Axis
by M. Bautista
Summary: Roxas had always known where his life was going. So how was it that one psychotic bundle of red spikes could change things so much, and make him realize how dissatisfied he really was? M for later lemons, language, and implied sexual themes. Akuroku. YAOI
1. I

**A/N: Chya! So my first AkuRoku. I'm likin it I'm likin it. Haha. Also my first chapter fic in a while. I said I'd sworn off these multi chapter fics after the last fiasco that happened with About That Favor. (Shameful, shameful thing), but I took myself some insurance out on this one here. Heh. **

**ANYHOW, as all yaoi lovers and writers know, there are always the vapid haters out there who don't know how to politely turn the other way if they don't like a story instead of screaming and flaming like immature little brats. If you are the former, I commend and respect you. If you are the latter-**

**Go fuck yourselves!! **

**So without further ado, I give you, Axis**

**Title: Axis**

**Pairing: AkuRoku**

**Rating: Mature (for later chappies)**

**Disclaimer: So not mine. These characters are Disney's, Square Enix's, or both. Gimme a sniper though and I'll see what I can do.**

* * *

The music was blasting at a deafening volume, sending vibrations coursing through every fiber of Roxas' being. His eyes struggled to focus on a single object, any object, within the dimly lit room filled with a mass of swaying bodies. It was all a blur and he shook his head before turning to the person he'd arrived with.

"Hayner," he began, trying to talk over the music, "I-"

"WHAT?!" The 19 year old yelled, motioning that he couldn't hear.

"I said I-"

"WHAT!?"

"I'M GOING HOME!" Roxas yelled in frustration. He didn't know what he was doing in that club in the first place.

But Hayner had heard that last bit loud and clear.

"NO! NO, WAIT!" he pled, leading Roxas even deeper into the club, squeezing between the dancing bodies. They ended up at the bar, where the music was slightly less deafening. The vibrations persisted, however.

"I don't know why I let you convince me to coming here," Roxas began, glancing warily at the one or two people at the bar, the bartender nowhere in sight.

"You need to get out more!" Hayner said before suddenly beating down on the wood of the bar. "Bartender! Anyway, Namine's got you on too short of a leash. She's basically got you by the balls-"

"Good bye, Hayner." Roxas said, preparing to leave.

"No, no, no," Hayner said, grabbing Roxas by his shoulders, "Look, you may not be on the market to _truly_ enjoy yourself tonight, but you can still drink 'til you puke your guts out right? You just turned 18, so it's legal now."

"I can drink at my own home," Roxas retorted.

"Dude, I need you here though!" Hayner went on, changing his strategy. "I need you here to help me land a girl, maybe. Please don't ditch me."

Roxas eyed him warily as Hayner looked at him, desperation apparent in his eyes. Roxas inwardly cursed himself.

"Fine," he sighed, seating himself exasperatedly on the nearest barstool, eyes closed and head hung in defeat.

"Thanks, Roxas!" Hayner said with a slap to Roxas' back, before running off and melting seamlessly into the sea of bodies.

Roxas opened his eyes, gazing at the swirling patterns on the wood, some inches away from his nose, and sighed. How had he let Hayner drag him there in the first place? He had a girlfriend already; he didn't need to be in a place like _this_.

"What'll it be?" he suddenly heard a voice call from somewhere in front of him.

Roxas lifted his head to see vibrant red, spiky hair resting on top of a man's head, threatening to swallow him whole it seemed. Roxas' eyes fell from the bright mass to a pair of equally brilliant green eyes; tattoos of what could most be described as tears resting under each of them.

He was wearing a green apron made of some rather stiff looking material over a solid black Tee. The guy looked kind of fake, Roxas thought vaguely.

When Roxas realized he was staring, he redirected his gaze back to the beaten wood of the bar. He really wasn't in any mood to get completely hammered.

"A Screwdriver," Roxas said.

The bartender was silent for a second, and unmoving, causing Roxas to look up inquiringly.

"You look like you could use something stronger," he commented.

"No thank you," Roxas replied, "Just the Screwdriver."

The bartender shrugged before going off to the other end of the bar to gather the ingredients. Roxas watched him the entire time. Well, his hair at least.

'_Can't be natural',_ Roxas thought as the man returned and began making the drink.

That was when Roxas caught sight of his waist line; or lack thereof. Even behind the loose fitting tee, it was apparent this guy was thin.

The bartender set the glass full of a lightly hued orange liquid, filled to the brim.

"Thanks," Roxas said gripping the glass, "Put it on Hayner's tab."

"Oh you're _Hayner's_ friend?" the red-head chuckled, "I thought it was his voice that called me. Though honestly, I didn't know he swung that way."

Roxas nearly choked on the mouthful of liquor he'd just swallowed.

"W-what?" he spluttered through coughs, "N-no. No it's not like that. I _have_ a girlfriend!"

The bartender laughed as Roxas tried to even out his breathing again after his coughing fit.

"Relax, relax I know. It was just a joke," he said, "Hayner leaves with a different girl every time he comes in here."

Roxas sighed at his best friend's playboy attitude. He knew it all to well.

"Axel," the bartender said.

Roxas' mind drew a blank at the spoken word.

"Axle?" he questioned aloud, "What you mean like on a wheel?"

The bartender chuckled and shook his head.

"No, it's my name A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?"

'_Weird name',_ Roxas thought hypocritically.

"Roxas," Roxas replied lazily, before taking another swig of his drink, "Though you really didn't have to tell me. I don't plan on becoming a regular here."

Axel shrugged.

"It's only polite." he explained casually, leaning over the bar and peering out at the dance floor. "So, Roxas, it's pretty odd for a _non-single_ person to be here," Axel explained.

"Tell me about it," Roxas said bitterly, the mixed taste of orange juice and vodka still lingering.

Roxas looked around at the now completely empty bar.

"You always have this much company?" Roxas asked.

Axel scoffed.

"It's the band," he said, nodding his head in the direction of the stage. Roxas had almost been desensitized to the presence of the music. "Stealin' all my customers."

Roxas listened to the music for a second.

"They're not that good," Roxas murmured as he drank again.

He felt Axel watching him.

"So what's your story?" he asked Roxas.

"Come again," Roxas asked, eyes focused on what was inside his glass.

"Everyone who drinks has a story," Axel reasoned.

Roxas laughed.

"Is that so?" Roxas asked rhetorically, "Then what about the poor souls who make the drinks?"

Axel smiled in a way that sent tiny shivers racing along Roxas' spine, for a reason he couldn't quite factor. Maybe the liquor was already getting to him.

"Good question," Axel said as Roxas brought the glass to his lips again, but suddenly froze as he was about to drink.

"I'm suddenly feeling like a Black Russian," Roxas said. He needed coffee to sober up a little. Having another man's smile sending shivers down his spine was bit of a red flag, but he still wanted alcohol.

"You're not even finished with what you have," Axel protested.

Roxas set the cup down and pushed it aside.

"You said all your customers have been stolen," Roxas said, "I'm gonna keep you so busy you won't even notice. Now, the Black Russian, if you don't mind."

Axel laughed softly and murmured something under his breath that Roxas didn't quite catch.

A few minutes later, Axel returned with Roxas' drink.

"How old are you anyways..." Axel asked before adding, "...shorty?"

Roxas almost crushed the glass he'd just wrapped his fingers around, and had the most violent of urges to shatter it upside Axel's head.

"What was that?" He asked in a dangerously calm voice.

Axel was nonplussed.

"How old are you?" Axel repeated.

Roxas took down a big gulp of his drink.

"Old enough," Roxas replied shortly. Axel was clearly amused.

"I'm thinking barely."

"No one cares what you're thinking." Roxas muttered. "Now, if you will be so kind, a Tom Collins, on the rocks."

"Ok, ok, touché." Axel said, raising his arms in mock defense, "Keeping it light, eh?"

"I'm not looking to get wasted," Roxas explained, "Just keeping myself, and you too I guess, busy until Hayner has made his pick for the night."

"Speak of the devil…" Axel said, eyes locking on to something behind Roxas.

Roxas turned around in his seat enough to see Hayner coming up to him, a little sweaty and out of breath.

"Already?" Axel inquired, "It usually takes you longer."

"But not always," Hayner protested a little indignantly.

"It's only been like 20 minutes," Roxas interjected.

"That's plenty of time," Hayner defended. "Anyway, Roxas, I came over here because you need to find another way home-"

"WHAT?!" Roxas exclaimed angrily.

"Dude, it's a _total_ mood killer-"

"Hayner," Roxas said pointedly, "_you_ dragged _me_ here. _You_ forced _me_ to stay here in case _you_ needed _me_. And now, you're going to _leave_ me so _you_ can screw some random slut you picked up in a cheap club?"

"You make it sound so horrible…"

"It _is_, Hayner!" Roxas fumed.

"Roxas-"

"I'll take you home."

Both Hayner's and Roxas' eyes fell on Axel.

"Really?! See Roxas, Axel will take you home. Thanks Axel."

"Hayner, I really-"

"Oh, c'mon Roxie," Axel said.

For the second time tonight, Roxas wanted to break his glass against that man's head.

"Don't call me that!" Roxas snapped at the man behind the bar.

"C'mon Roxas," Hayner pleaded. He seemed to be doing a lot of that tonight. Roxas glared at Hayner as fiercely as he could. Why was it that he could never say "no" to his friends?

"I am _never_ going out with you again," Roxas said and Hayner's face instantly brightened up.

"Thanks man!" he said, bouncing back towards the crowd, "I owe you one!"

He disappeared again.

"More like 20," Roxas muttered under his breath before turning back to Axel.

"Thanks, but you really don't have to go through all the trouble. I can call a taxi."

"Calling a taxi downtown on a Friday night?" Axel laughed, "It'll be an hour and a half before it even gets here. And it's almost a nightly thing for me anyway. You're not the first person I've seen his friend ditch for a girl."

Roxas sighed before finishing off his drink in one go. Axel was right about the taxi thing. Roxas was inwardly weighing his options, and they were pretty nonexistent. He didn't really make it a point to take rides from strangers… but Hayner seemed to be pretty friendly with him, so he couldn't be all bad.

"When's your shift over?" Roxas asked.

"Nine," Axel answered, walking away from the bar towards some back room.

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as Axel disappeared behind a door. It was about nine when he and Hayner had arrived.

Axel emerged not even a minute later in a black sweat jacket carrying a set of keys. A blonde woman followed closely behind him; tying on an apron like the one Axel had been wearing. Probably the same apron, taking the size of Axel's waist into account.

"It's a slow night," Axel told her before walking to one end of the bar to exit. He'd walked back towards Roxas, who could now fully appreciate exactly how tall Axel was. "Ready to go?" he asked Roxas.

Roxas nodded and stood up.

"Larxene," Axel called to the blonde bartender, and gestured at Roxas' glasses, "Hayner's tab."

Roxas burned up at the mention of his best friend, and suddenly hopped on top of the bar and yelled at the top of his lungs over the music. Everyone had stopped dancing to look at him as Axel shot him a wide-eyed confused glance.

"EVERYBODY GETS A FREE BEER ON ME!"

The once dancing bodies erupted into cheers as the crowd rushed towards the bar.

Roxas hopped down and turned to the woman named Larxene.

"Put it on Hayner's tab."

Roxas and Axel pushed their way through the crowd, none to easily, and out of the front door. They were silent all the way to Axel's car: a pretty sleek looking silver Camaro.

"Nice car for a bartender," Roxas commented as Axel disarmed and unlocked the car with his tiny remote.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Axel said once they were both in the car. "What's your address?"

Axel revved the engine.

"It was an observation," Roxas said impassively, "I live a little out, take this street to the free way."

Axel silently consented.

"So that little stunt back there," Axel ventured, "was a little…"

"Bitchy?" Roxas offered.

"As good a word as any," Axel shrugged, turning onto the on-ramp.

"Well Hayner wasn't so _gentlemen-like_ himself tonight either," Roxas said a lot more calmly than he felt. Then he leaned back into the passenger's seat and sighed. "I'll probably regret it once I calm down, and end up paying him back."

"Oho?" Axel inquired, intrigued, "Roxie's a Richie?"

"Don't call me that!" Roxas bit at Axel, who only chuckled in response, "And no, I'm not rich, I'm not the one driving a Camaro."

Roxas saw a smirk play on Axel's lips, but the redhead said nothing.

"What's my exit?"

"Exit?" Roxas asked bemusedly, "Oh no, you take this free way to the next, here! Get into your left lane. I told you I live a ways out. Two cities over."

Axel's eyes were fixed on the road ahead of him. It was fairly congested, as Axel had predicted. It was, after all, Friday night, and people were trying to go places. It would be sometime before Roxas made it home.

"Looks like we've got a while," Axel sighed, obviously frustrated with the stop and go traffic, "Why don't you tell me about yourself Rox-" A sideways glare from Roxas made him change that last syllable. "-as?"

Roxas shrugged and leaned away from Axel, head resting on the window,

"What's to tell?"

Roxas always hated small talk. It was just random people you didn't know asking personal questions about things they didn't really care about in the first place. They were just talking for the sake of talking, trying not to be rude, but pissing Roxas off to no end.

Axel's eyes flicked over to Roxas briefly before finding the road again.

"Me?" Axel asked, "How kind of you to ask, I'm 23, my favorite color is red, reminds me of fire, and I'm a part-time bartender.

'_Twenty-three?'_ Roxas wondered idly. He didn't look quite that old. Then suddenly a question had re-surfaced in Roxas' mind.

"That your natural color?" Roxas asked, pointing to the red porcupine that had died on Axel's head.

"You know that's a very rude question," Axel said in mock offense.

"Well the answers people really want often have 'rude' questions attached to them," Roxas asserted.

"True," Axel nodded, "But I'm not going to tell you."

Roxas turned to stare at Axel and the sudden attention made Axel visibly uncomfortable.

"Yes?" Axel asked after a few moments.

"Did you dye your eyebrows too?" Roxas wondered aloud, "I wouldn't put it past you since you shaved half of them clean off."

"Hey!" Axel exclaimed indignantly, covering his forehead with one hand and steering the car with the other, "I did _not_ shave them! They just grow this way."

"And you got _tears_ tattooed under your eyes?" Roxas said, Axel still under scrutiny, "How emo. And your eyes, is it even _possible_ for eyes to be so green? Are those contacts? Is there anything _natural_ about you?"

"Alright! Ok! Enough!" Axel said gripping the wheel with both hands again, "Goddamn. Rip me to shreds, why don't ya?"

"Sure thing," Roxas said, finally averting his gaze.

"Do you always pay this much attention to people's looks or am I just special?" Axel asked Roxas.

Roxas shook his head ambiguously.

"I find people's appearances can be a lot more truthful than their voices."

"This is also true, oh wise Roxie."

Roxas was about ready to call that a lost battle.

"Hey does your girlfriend call you Foxy Roxie?"

Roxas' face flushed, from anger or humiliation, he couldn't discern, and he threw Axel a wild scowl.

"The hell is wrong with you?!" Roxas demanded, "Why-"

"You said the answers people wanted to know had rude questions," Axel repeated, "I was only curious. It would be so cute, and when I say cute I mean a complete defilation and violation of the sacredness of your masculinity. From what I heard Hayner telling you, she's already got you"-he made lashing sound with his mouth-"whipped."

If Roxas had any doubt before, he was certain now, this man was clinically insane. He'd managed to disguise it so well back at the club.

Roxas chose not to dignify that last statement with a response.

"C'mon Roxie," Axel prodded, "No shame in it, you're not alone."

"I am not whipped!" Roxas blurted before he could stop himself.

Everyone who'd seen him and Namine together always called him whipped. It was true that he did anything she wanted, but he wasn't whipped by a long shot.

He and Namine had been together for two years. He'd only asked her out in the first place because his parents suggested it. He had come to love her, he supposed, and it wasn't like she was high maintenance or anything. When she requested something, however, it was almost always like a command.

Roxas could say "no" anytime he wanted, but he never really had any reason to. He was a peace keeper. He did just about anything to avoid conflict and maintain the status quo. He wasn't afraid of conflict, but he didn't like it.

Roxas had things, many things, expected of him, and he was never one to disappoint.

"Oh, snappy come back," Axel teased.

"I just want to get home," Roxas said, more to himself than to Axel, "lie down and go to sleep. Hayner's never stupid enough to bring his girls over. I should be alright."

"Oh Roxie," Axel said, "you know you always have a place to go as long as I'm around-"

"No thank you," Roxas said before Axel barely got the sentence out. "I'm going to try and put this entire night, especially you, behind me and never look back again."

"Aw, don't be that way Rox-"

"AH! Shut up!" Roxas all but screamed, "I'll be however I want!"

'_Why is this guy so irritating?!'_

Axel made a noise reminiscent of a snigger and a red flag shot up in Roxas' mind.

'_This bastard…'_

He knew what he was doing, Axel knew full well he was irritating Roxas. He was doing it _purposely_.

Roxas made a point not to talk for the next 20 minutes, even as Axel continued to ramble mindlessly.

Then the big green sign flashed in Roxas' peripheral vision.

"That's your exit," Roxas said quietly, pointing vaguely towards the sign.

Axel glanced over.

"Oh," Axel breathed, before sharply turning the wheel, crossing over three lanes in one turn.

"HOLY SHIT!" Roxas screamed, pressing himself flat against the car seat, "ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE!?"

Honks and enraged yells of drivers were heard all around as Axel got into the exit lane. Roxas didn't know why he'd bother asking that question, he already knew the answer.

"I saw an opening…"

"_I_ saw my whole damn LIFE flash before my eyes you asshole!"

"Asshole?" Axel inquired as he drove down the exit ramp, "Me? The bartender who, out of the goodness of his heart, gave an abandoned friend a ride home?"

"No! You, who seems to get some kind of cheap thrill from stomping up and down my nerves!"

Roxas' heart was still racing. Never in his life… The tension is his body didn't seem like it was going to be leaving any time soon. Axel gave him a sideways glance.

"Roxas?" Axel said.

"What!?" Roxas snapped.

"Your address?"

"Just turn right at this intersection," Roxas instructed, calming down a bit, "My apartment building is right there."

Axel knitted his eyebrows.

"Twilight Townhouses?" Axel asked.

Roxas, still burning with rage, spoke shortly.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"You live _there_?"

"Yes!"

"Right _here_?" Axel asked again as he pulled up to the gate of the complex's parking lot.

Roxas glared dangerously at Axel, warning him to shut up, before he eagerly reached for the door handle when the gate began to slide open. Both Axel and Roxas looked back to see a blue minivan waiting patiently behind them.

Even with Roxas' door half open, Axel began to drive forward into the parking lot and Roxas hurriedly shut the door again.

"Would you warn me the next time you do something crazy?" Roxas said, a little to exasperated to work to put all the frustration he was feeling into his words.

Axel made no response but parked in a space that was currently unoccupied as the blue minivan drove on ahead. Roxas noticed it was the space beside Roxas' own car, a black Volvo.

"You know these spots are assigned," Roxas said.

"Well that's usually the case with apartment parking," Axel replied sarcastically.

Roxas rolled his eyes and got out of the car. He was about to turn around and thank Axel when he saw the tall red-head step out of the car himself.

"What're you doing?" Roxas asked agitatedly as Axel armed the car, "I don't need an escort."

"Course you don't Roxie," Axel said striding around his car, "You're a big boy-"

"Get back in your car and go home," Roxas cut over him, turning on his heels and preparing to walk on.

Axel only laughed before draping his arm over Roxas (and bending a good deal to do so).

"What's your apartment number?" Axel asked as Roxas swatted his arm away.

"Like I want a maniac like you knowing where I live," Roxas muttered, "You know too much as it is."

Roxas began searching his pockets for his keys.

His heart plummeted when the only thing he found in his pockets was his wallet and a few candy wrappers.

His face obviously did nothing to hide his distress.

"Something wrong?" Axel asked.

Roxas was still feeling around in his pockets frantically, frisking himself.

"I can't find my keys," he whispered loudly, patting down on every square inch of his body in desperation. Then he froze as he remembered he'd left them in Hayner's car. Roxas groaned. "Can this night get any worse?"

'_Maybe I'll just kick the door in…'_

"How long have you been living here?" Axel suddenly inquired.

Roxas shot him a confused look.

"I don't know, a week?" he replied, "why?"

"Just curious."

Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Well look," Roxas began, "Thanks for the ride. Really, I appreciate it, but go home now."

Axel looked as though he were contemplating this for a second.

"Okay," he finally said, and began to walk forward, right past Roxas.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Roxas demanded.

Axel's pace didn't slow as the distance between the two got bigger.

"I'm going home," Axel informed, "I'm apartment seven."

Roxas couldn't really generate a response.

He turned around to notice a big placard with a bold "7" above it.

'_No…'_

Hayner and his apartment was eight.

"If you need a place to crash tonight," Axel called over his shoulder, "You know where to find me."

Roxas scoffed.

He was reluctant to even accept a ride from this guy, this stranger. But against his better judgment, he had. And it turned out to be a very big mistake. There was absolutely _no way_ he was going to spend the night at the psycho's house. God KNOWS what would happen if he did that…

Roxas watched Axel's back until it turned around a corner and out of sight. Really, what choice did he have? He couldn't go anywhere without his keys.

He might have called up Namine, she had a spare key to his apartment, but she was, and would be for a while, out of town.

Roxas groaned in frustration in the isolated parking lot before running his fingers through his blond spikes.

This was stupid. Roxas wasn't so irresponsible; this was something Hayner would-

'_Hayner…'_

Roxas rushed over to his apartment hoping he wouldn't bump into Axel on the way. He didn't, his one stroke of luck that evening.

Roxas skidded to a halt in front of his apartment. Well, it was like the name said, a town house, two stories.

They were all lined up in a huge square shape around a grass clearing. There was a lining of cement around the grass, right in front of the houses, and one side of the courtyard-because that's how Roxas could most accurately label it, there was a sandbox and jungle gym for the children in the complex to play.

Each door was probably spaced out some twenty feet apart, each customized with welcome mats, wind chimes, plants, and the like.

Roxas didn't care one way or the other about the decorations, but Hayner had made a point of outdoing everyone. So every decoration under the sun was on and around the door of apartment eight.

This consisted of two potted plants on either side of the door, a welcome mat, some strange small statues, and a couple of other tacky things.

Roxas began rummaging through all of it.

Hayner was forgetful. Roxas knew this. Hayner knew this. So it would go without saying that Hayner would take precautions against his own idiocy.

'_Bingo.'_

Hidden in the soil of the plotted plant on the right, was none other than a copy of the apartment key.

Roxas would have been grateful to Hayner if he hadn't been the one to cause all of this strife in the first place.

Roxas brushed the caked on dirt off of the key and slid it into the hole, never quite appreciating until then the melodious clock an unlocking door makes.

"Oh I see you found your key."

The voice came from behind, that damned voice.

"I did," Roxas lied, not wanting this guy to know there was a spare outside the apartment.

Roxas turned around to see Axel standing in the moonlit courtyard with a handful of mail.

"Goodnight then," Roxas said, turning and opening his door. Roxas went inside without waiting for a response, and closed the door before his damned conscience began kicking him incessantly.

He cracked his door open to see Axel halfway through his own.

"And thanks again," Roxas muttered to the now wide-eyed redhead. Roxas shut the door again and locked it behind him.

* * *

"Shit!" Roxas swore under his breath as he ran down the generally empty halls of the physics building. "Shit shit shit shit shit."

First day of the new semester, first day of college as a whole and he was late to class.

Olympus University was one of the hardest schools to be accepted into, and here he was being so nonchalant about it. It was a huge campus too, hard to navigate.

_1278, 1280- Ah!_

There was his class, room 1282.

Roxas quietly opened the door, prepared to apologize to the professor, only to notice that one had yet to arrive.

The room was made up of a small stage at the front, a desk off to one side and a podium on the other, student desks in ascending rows that faced the black board, located right on the wall behind the stage.

Students were speckled throughout the desks and an uneven scrawl scribble sloppily on the board that read: Advanced Physics, let Roxas know that he was in the right class.

Roxas took a seat in the back of the class, like he'd done for the entirety of his academic career.

Roxas sat beside a rather nerdy looking fellow; slicked back hair, dress shirt, pocket protector, hell the only thing this guy was missing was a pair of thick rimmed glasses.

Upon closer examination, Roxas found that the majority of the class looked quite like the boy next to him.

He and two other people were the most normal looking.

Roxas glanced up at the clock above the white board.

'_10:17. Where's the professor?'_

As if summonsed by Roxas' thought, the door flew open as a blur rushed to the desk and plopped down a pile of papers and a brief case.

Roxas' jaw could have crashed onto the top of the devil's head himself, with how low it dropped.

The professor before him, in a white dress shirt with rolled up sleeves and black, loose fitting slacks. He wore ovular spectacles over his brilliantly green eyes, and had his impossibly red hair pulled into a low pony tail; spikes ever prominent.

The tattoos on either of his cheeks became prominent as he shot the class a smile.

"Sorry I'm late," he said apologetically.

'_No…'_ was the only thought Roxas could formulate.

"I slept in a little later than I intended to."

Standing before him was the same lunatic that had driven him home last night.

"I hope you'll forgive me."

The same lunatic that lived next door to him.

"Now let's get down to business."

This lunatic was his _physics_ professor.

"I'm the advanced physics professor-"

Why was fate always spitting in Roxas' face?

"Call me Axel."

* * *

**Why hello there Axel. P. Yare, yare, I'm perhaps having too much fun, ne? haha. There's a plot there's a plot, you just have to wait a bit for it to surface.**

**I prolly will update about once every week or so- give or take a day or two. If this changes, I will alert you immijiately. :) Well I'll be going then! Ja! Please send me a shiny review on your way out, and thank you for reading.**


	2. II

EDIITTTTT: Any mention of Radiant Garden in this chapter has been CHANGED to Destiny Islands. DESTINY ISLANDS. I REPEAT. FORGET I EVER MENTIONED RADIANT GARDEN!!

_**A/N: SECOND CHAPPY! Oh my neck is so stiff, I've been hunched over in the same position for the last three hours. Pues, all for the sake of writing. **_

_**So I'm jumping the gun three days early and posting this chapter here. Only because I'm so eager to get it out. **_

_**And how rude am I!? I forgot to mention a special thanks to my editor for this story- xTiggzie. Muchas gracias!**_

* * *

_Roxas' mind, still reeling from the shock of this most recent revelation, was trying to grasp onto the fact that Axel, __Axel,_ was his professor. He hardly looked old enough.

"_Me?" Axel asked, "How nice of you to ask; I'm 23, my favorite color is red, reminds me of fire, and I'm a part-time bartender."_

'_Twenty-three…' _Roxas thought, that's only enough time for a master's-at most- which wasn't enough to teach at a university level.

"But the syllabus said a Professor Ansem was teaching the class," one student pointed out.

'_Yeah!_ ' Roxas thought, listening intently for Axel's response.

"He's had a stroke," Axel replied solemnly, "I'm his TA. While he's being treated, this is my class. I'll do my best to keep up with his standards."

'_Damn!_ ' Roxas swore inwardly.

"How long will Professor Ansem be out?" a girl in the front row asked.

"Tentatively, a month," Axel replied, "However, we will be sticking to the syllabus received, so let's get started. This isn't high school anymore, so no fun little ice breaker. There's only one thing you all should care about in this class and it isn't the person sitting next to you. It's making sure you pass."

Roxas prayed Axel wouldn't notice him, and began holding his head a little lower. But Roxas knew he couldn't go an entire month unnoticed. Maybe he could drop the class…

"I'm not going to baby step you through anything and I will never grade on a curve. I don't accept late work and tests can only be made up if you have a _damned _good excuse.

"According to Ansem's syllabus, today we have an assessment to gauge your skills and knowledge as of today. I'll hand them out. Take one and pass it on."

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows as he watched Axel reach inside his briefcase for a stack of papers. His behavior was completely different from last night. Less psychotic.

Axel handed the papers to a person in the front row.

"This assessment will not affect your grade; it's only a reference to let me know what I'm working with. Once you're done with it, you are free to leave for the day. Just leave your papers on the desk and I'll collect them all afterwards. Be sure to put your names, because Ansem still has the attendance roster and this is my only way of keeping track of who was here. Go ahead and begin once you get a paper."

Roxas breathed a sigh of relief as the papers finally came in. He could get in and out unnoticed for today at least. He took a test once the papers reached him and passed the leftovers forward before pulling out a pencil from his pocket.**(1)**

The first thing he saw was "Name:" followed by a blank line.

Reflexively, he wrote his name down before remembering the unnoticed part. True, Axel had said this was his only way of keeping track of who was present or not, but Roxas was never really one to fret over attendance, and the test wasn't for a grade anyway. He quickly erased the graphite.

* * *

'_What a bunch of geeks,'_ Axel thought as he walked through the rows and columns of the classroom's desks, picking up the tests.

It was a short test that Axel had glanced over the night before. He'd already memorized the answers, so he could tell as he picked the tests up, how many were wrong and how many were right.

Most of these students bombed it. A Carlotta S. got a 15/20 though, and a Jax T. got a 14/20.

Axel sighed in mild disappointment at the scores. From the fourteen, the next highest score was six. Out of a class of 32.

He was in the last row now, and he let down his hair, unleashing all it's spiky glory.

'_Malcolm H… 2. That's just pathetic.'_

Axel moved to pick up the last one.

_No name_, Axel observed, noticing that there was signs of erased letters on the name line. Axel shrugged it off and lazily scanned through the answers once, but found himself snatching off his glasses (that he didn't really need anyway) to a do a more concentrated re-scan.

_20!?_ Axel thought disbelievingly, and held the paper closer to try and read the erased name.

'_R…Ro…'_

He tilted the paper so that he could analyze the indentations more clearly.

'_Rox… Roxas…'_

'_Roxas?!'_

Axel glanced around the room as though still expecting the boy to be there. That cute, feisty, little Roxie that was so fun to irritate last night? He had been here? He scored a perfect?

Axel smiled; no, more like smirked as he went back to his briefcase to put the tests away.

This Roxas was turning out to be more interesting than he thought.

Suddenly a low knock was heard at the door as Axel hooked his glasses onto his shirt. He looked up to see a blonde dressed in a black shirt and blue jeans.

"Hello professor," Demyx said, a little sensuously.

Axel stood up straight and smirked again as Demyx walked into the room towards where he was standing.

"Class is over," Axel explained, gesturing to the empty seats, "You missed the whole thing."

Demyx was now only a foot away from Axel, and he gazed up at him in a mock apologetic way.

"Oh damn," Demyx said, wrapping his arms around Axel's waist, Axel's extremely thin waist. "How can I make it up you?"

Axel peered down at the shorter man and snaked his own arms around Demyx's body.

"I can think of something," Axel breathed into Demyx's ear as he began to nibble at his lobe.

Axel could feel the other tremble in his arms as he pressed his lips against his. Immediately both their mouths opened up to each other as their tongues battled for dominance. The winner was always the same.

Axel slipped a hand under Demyx's shirt and the shorter man instantly subdued. Axel's fingers glided over the expanse of skin that was Demyx's stomach; smooth, flat, but undefined. It kept exploring until it brushed against a small bud, causing Demyx to gasp into the kiss. Axel smirked some more and Demyx pulled away.

"Not…" Demyx breathed, "Not here…" he feebly tried to escape the redhead's grip, but this only made Axel pull him even closer.

"Why not?" Axel kissed the blonde's neck softly, "It's kind of erotic, you know? In the office…"

Axel rubbed Demyx's hips provocatively against his own, eliciting a soft moan from the smaller male.

"And aren't you supposed to be making it up to me?"

"What if some one walks in?" Demyx protested, voice little more than a whisper.

Axel began suckling his neck.

"Then we'll show 'em something they'll never forget."

"Nn… are you at least…mm, prepared?"

Axel slid his tongue along the nape of Demyx's neck.

"I always am."

* * *

"Axel?"

"Yes."

"A professor?"

"You heard me."

"Wow…"

"For lack of better words."

Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Roxas all sat around a table at their favorite restaurant for lunch. They were outside facing the busy streets, watching bustling pedestrians and speeding cars go by. It was their usual spot, not only for eating out, but just in general; they were regulars and the owners were kind of like family.

"That's some story, Roxas," Pence stated.

"Sounds like you and this Axel person were destined to meet, one way or the other," Olette asserted.

"He's completely insane," Roxas said, "And popping up everywhere. He _lives_ next door to me and Hayner for crying out loud."

"He sounds like fun to me," Olette chuckled at Roxas' reaction, "I'd like to meet him."

"He makes killer Long Island Iced Teas," Hayner added, "You can taste for yourselves, we can all go to the club he works at tonight if you've got no plans."

"My schedule's free," Pence said.

"Mine is clear too," Olette nodded her head.

"Mine is booked solid," Roxas said shortly. He'd learned his lesson last night about going to that club with Hayner, combined with the fact that Axel would be there.

Pence and Olette looked at him curiously.

"Plans with Namine?" Hayner inquired.

Roxas wanted to sock him. He was still angry about last night.

"No, Namine's out of town right now, on the Destiny Islands, with her parents," Roxas said agitatedly, "She will be for the next month, I told you all this."

"Oh yea," Hayner said idly.

Roxas was actually a bit relieved about his girlfriend's departure, though he did feel guilty about his relief. It's not that he didn't enjoy spending time with Namine; she was an easy enough person to get along with. It was only that she always seemed to have things lined up for her and Roxas to do.

"Then why can't you come?" Olette wondered aloud. "It's not like you have any hobbies, and school only just started today. You've only been to two classes, plus you're only taking Saturday classes. You can't have all that much homework."

Roxas had stopped listening at that point. There was no way in hell he was going to be convinced to go back to that club where that psycho worked, and definitely not to be forced to find his own way home again.

Roxas wasn't really the party type anyway. He much preferred staying at home on his couch in front of TV, or with a book, to going out.

He hadn't had a night to himself in a while. It would be a nice change.

"-then, Roxas?"

"Sorry what?"

"I said," Olette began, "what are you going to do then?"

Hayner and Pence were waiting for his answers as well.

"Sleep," Roxas said, leaning back in his chair as a breeze sailed through his hair, "We'll be skiing in hell before I got back to _that_ club to willingly interact with _that_ man again."

"It's not exactly like you can avoid him," Pence pointed out, "He lives next door to you and is your professor. You're gonna have to face him eventually."

"So what's the rush then?" Roxas grimaced.

"Aww, please Roxas?" Olette persisted, "it won't be any fun without you."

"Of course it won't," Roxas said matter-of-factly. "But after what Hayner did last night-"

"I said I was sorry!"

"-I'm going to be spending a lot of nights at home. Especially after making me ride home with that maniac, one of the most terrifying nights of my life."

Roxas was staring up at the clear blue skies, and upon hearing silence from his friends, brought his eyes down to meet their gazes.

Big mistake.

Each of them was giving him their best pouty/desperate/pleading faces. The faces that Roxas could never say "no" to; the faces they all knew Roxas could never say "no" to.

"Guys…" Roxas plead, but they only intensified their looks.

Roxas was stronger than this, he wouldn't give in. He wasn't that much of a push over. He could say "no". It was just a simple monosyllabic, two letter word. He could say it.

"Alright fine," Roxas groaned, slumping in his chair in utter defeat.

He was weak. So unbelievably weak.

"Yay!" Olette called excitedly.

Hayner and Pence chuckled in triumph.

"It'll be better this time I swear," Hayner testified, "I won't be girl hunting."

"Hunting?" Olette inquired a little indignantly.

"BUT!" Roxas interjected, nipping the oncoming argument in the bud, "We're taking my car."

* * *

It was two minutes to seven and Roxas had just come from his last class for the day, English 101. He was navigating through the halls towards the parking lot so he could go home and take a shower before he went out with the gang. It was basically smooth sailing through all of his classes though; most of the professors he got were smooth sailing and laid back, which meant minimal work.

Suddenly Roxas' phone began vibrating in his pocket. He reached in his pocket to take the simple flip phone out and looked down at the caller ID- the screen read "Sora".

Sora's his younger brother; younger by six minutes anyway. He was sort of the black sheep of the family, and the polar opposite of Roxas. It seemed at times that whatever their parents wanted, Sora would make sure the opposite happened. Especially last year when Sora finally came out to everyone.

Not that Sora was blatantly defiant, it was only that him and their parents seemed to be at ends on every topic. Sora didn't want to get his degree in medicine or law, he wanted to get it in journalism. So that's what he was doing. Sora didn't want to work his butt off for meaningless grades on report cards, so Sora only did what was needed to pass. And Sora didn't necessarily want to be gay, but if that was the case, he wasn't going to try and be otherwise just to please anybody.

He did what he felt was right. He was always that way. Roxas sort of envied that about Sora. Roxas always did what was necessary to please his parents, to please his friends, to please whoever it was that needed pleasing. One day though, Roxas would always contest to himself, he would get away from it all and find out who he really was.

One day.

Roxas flipped the phone open and placed it to his ear.

"What?"

"Nice to hear from you too," came Sora's voice from the other end of the line. "What's got your boxers in a bunch?"

"Sorry Sora," Roxas apologized, "It's been a rough day. What's up?"

"Ah, nothing really. Just calling to say hey."

"You had nothing better to do eh?"

"In a nutshell."

"Riku not home yet?"

"Not yet…"

Riku was Sora's boyfriend of the last four years. They'd been together since middle school, long before Sora finally announced his sexuality to the world. Roxas knew all along though; there wasn't much twins could keep from each other.

"So you're just using me as a way to kill time?"

"Yup."

"Wasting my anytime minutes."

"You betcha."

"Running up my bill."

"As always."

"During peak hours."

"And you love me for it."

Roxas sighed playfully.

"How's your day been? Settled into life on the Destiny Islands?" Roxas asked, "If you see Namine there send her my regards. She hasn't called me in a day or two."

Sora scoffed. He wasn't really fond of Namine.

"I'm not making any promises," he responded, "But I am settling in quite nicely, thank you. This city is so big compared to Twilight Town."

"Well being more populated than Twilight Town isn't exactly a feat," Roxas informed his brother sarcastically. "What have we got, like 20 people?"

"I'm thinking it's 21 actually."

Roxas rolled his eyes, though he knew his brother couldn't see it.

"Forgive my oversight."

"Of course," Sora conceded playfully, "But tell me how things are going in Olympus. It's pretty close to home right?"

"Just two cities over," Roxas confirmed, "It was a hassle convincing mom and dad that an hour long commute was too long, they wanted to keep me home you know? Have me living in their basement; girlfriendless and jobless 'til I'm 40. Still, they wouldn't let me move more than a 15 minute drive away."

"Really? They seemed all too eager to get me out."

"Well who wouldn't be?"

Roxas heard some sort of loud noise in the background on Sora's end.

"Serial killer coming for you?" Roxas inquired as he stepped outside of the Language Arts building and onto the parking lot.

"No, just Riku," Sora replied a little distractedly, "But now I'm thinking the serial killer would have been friendlier company."

"Oh," Roxas groaned sympathetically, "He in a bad mood?"

"Yeah," Sora answered in a whisper. "Let me call you back later."

"Take it easy," Roxas chuckled.

"You too."

Roxas hung up the phone in a slightly better mood than before. Sora had that sort of effect on the people he was around, he somehow always managed to make a situation brighter, even the already bright ones.

Roxas chuckled to himself as he reached his car and prepared to drive home.

* * *

Roxas found himself wondering why the hell he'd let himself be drawn back to this place. He was sure he'd have nightmares of it.

The music was as loud as the night before, and the room as equally dim. The crowd had more people in it, and they were all dancing a lot livelier as well.

Immediately Hayner took them all to the bar, Roxas reluctantly following. Didn't they have any private areas in this club?

The bar was also a lot fuller that night; almost too full. Hayner pointed to two empty seats and Pence and Olette sat themselves there. Roxas stood behind with crossed arms, and glanced down at his watch.

8:20. He'd promised them all that he'd stay at least until ten.

"We're just here to have a good time as friends!" Hayner said loudly so that the others could hear him, "But you never know what could happen if you just happen to click with someone-"

"You're not taking my car anywhere with any floozy you happen to pick up," Roxas let it be known quickly.

"I get it Roxas," Hayner said with annoyance in his voice, "Now let's all get a drink and then hit the dance floor!"

Pence and Olette threw their fists in the air in agreement and turned around to wait for the bartender to come, but Roxas stayed behind. He wasn't getting within ten feet of that bar. Roxas looked anxiously up and down the length of the bar, searching for signs of red. None.

Roxas breathed a sigh of relief as he spotted a girl with short black hair wearing the bartending apron as she came up to Hayner, Pence and Olette. She was the one on shift tonight, apparently.

Roxas was the youngest of all of them, having only just turned eighteen two months ago, while they were all approaching their nineteenth birthdays.

Roxas couldn't hear what she was saying over the music, but she was talking conversationally to them as she took their orders.

"Told you I usually have more customers."

Roxas' heart skipped a beat as he whipped his head around to see Axel standing behind him, with an empty tray tucked under one arm.

"What are you doing over here?" Roxas asked fiercely.

"Whoa calm down, Roxie," Axel said defensively, "I was just taking drinks to some customers." He pointed over to a closed off section of the club. "V.I.P."

"How nice for them."

"You know you've been a little revered in this club," Axel went on, "because of what you did yesterday."

"That so?" Roxas said more than asked.

Axel looked down silently at Roxas for a second.

"I get the feeling that you're uncomfortable having me around," Axel said thoughtfully.

"Just a feeling?" Roxas said snidely.

"Why so hostile, Roxie?"

"Well you keep calling me 'Roxie' for one!" Roxas snapped.

"There's more?"

"You ask the _strangest_ questions."

"Hypocrite."

"And you nearly KILLED me!"

"Just that once…"

Roxas gawked at the man in anger and disbelief.

"You're unbelievable…"

"You're cute.

Roxas froze.

"I need a drink," he finally muttered, looking away from Axel and shaking his head.

"I'll get that for you," Axel said, walking around Roxas, "Anything for my best student. You scored a perfect y'know."

Roxas' face flushed over.

So he _had_ noticed him? Roxas combed over the class in his mind. Axel's eyes hadn't found his once. He knew that for sure. Maybe he hadn't erased his name well enough…

Roxas was spacing out when he noticed his friends talking to Axel, who had made it behind the bar now. Then he saw Olette turn around and motion for him to come over.

Roxas debated, and ultimately decided that he didn't want that man infecting his friend's minds without him there to do some damage control.

Roxas walked over to the bar where his friends were huddled in a group.

"So what kinda drink did you have in mind, Roxie?" Axel asked.

"Roxie?" Pence wondered.

Roxas glared at him warningly.

"How 'bout that Tom Collins you never got me," Roxas said, but instead of leaving, Axel called out to the other bartender on duty.

"Yuffie! Tom Collins over here!"

The girl, who was in the middle of a conversation with another customer, only nodded and continued making whatever drink she was working on.

"Slacking off?" Hayner teased.

"Whenever I can," Axel confirmed.

"So Axel," Olette began, "I hear you're a physics professor."

Axel shot Roxas a quick glance before turning back to Olette.

"I see Roxie has been talking about me," Axel said with some kind of underlying tone in his voice.

"Yeah, about your lunacy," Roxas interposed.

Axel laughed.

"I'm only the professor's assistant, I don't have my doctorate so I can't actually teach the class. I'm more like the puppet the professor is using to do his bidding. A monkey could do it."

"A monkey _is_ doing it," Roxas murmured.

"Ouch!" Axel hissed, "Cuts like a knife, Roxie. Is he always so hurtful?"

"Not really," Olette scolded Roxas with a look.

"Pretty tough words to be saying to someone in charge of your grades, Roxas," Hayner laughed.

Roxas waved the words off.

"I'm dropping the class anyway," Roxas told them, "I don't need that maniac in my life any more than necessary."

"The maniac is standing right here ya know?"

"Unfortunately."

The girl called Yuffie came over bearing a cup full of clear liquid.

"Tom Collins," she said cheerily.

"Thank you, lovely," Axel said, relieving her of the drink. "Roxie?"

Yuffie wandered off again as Axel extended the drink between Pence and Olette for Roxas to take. Roxas reached over and gripped the cool glass and felt a feather light touch across the back of his hands. So light he might have been imagining it. Was he?

He froze and looked at Axel, who had released the glass, and the man was showing no signs of having done anything but hand his glass over.

"Thanks," Roxas muttered before bringing the glass to his lips.

"So he _can_ speak kind words," Axel jested.

Hayner, Pence, and Olette all shared a silent snigger as Roxas swallowed the liquid, enjoying the slight burning sensation down his throat.

They went on like that, talking, laughing, chatting and all in all having a good time. Even Roxas had to admit, however grudgingly, that among the current company, Axel didn't seem to be as bad as he was last night. Maybe he just caught him on an off night.

Four drinks later and working on a fifth, Roxas heard Hayner speak.

"So are we ready to hit the dance floor yet?" Hayner asked the general population.

"Oh, Roxie dances?" Axel asked, intrigued.

"Not often enough," Olette complained, "I'm kinda jealous of Namine every time I see you on the dance floor. You look so…" Her face flushed over and she couldn't finish the sentence.

Roxas scoffed to cover up his own embarrassment. Comments like that were exactly he reason he didn't dance often. It made himself conscious. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy dancing, but he could easily live without it.

"I must see," Axel went on.

Roxas took another swig back.

"I'm gonna need to be a little more drunk before that happens," Roxas said, words already slurring slightly.

"So you're not going to dance with us?" Pence asked.

"No." Roxas replied concisely, earning another round of complaints from his friends, and Axel. Roxas wasn't going to give in on this one though. He closed his eyes and continued to calmly drink his drink. "Whine all you want, you guys aren't winning this one."

"So you're going to stay at the bar all night again?"

That caught Roxas' attention. He opened his eyes and stared up at Axel. Stared up at that crazy person and began weighing it out in his mind. Suffer another night in his company, or simply dance.

"Alright fine," Roxas began, and took down the rest of his drink, "One song. On the other side of the club. WAY on the other side."

"Aww, but then how will I see you?" Axel complained.

"You won't," Roxas said while setting the glass down on the table.

"Then I'll just have to come and watch."

Roxas furrowed his brow and crossed his arms.

"What are you just intent on following me tonight?" Roxas asked agitatedly.

"That's the whole idea Roxie." Axel smiled, and hopped over the bar between Pence and Olette, causing Roxas to back up a little as the red head landed in front of him. "You fascinate me."

"Well you irritate me."

"C'mon Roxas," Hayner reasoned, "Axel can dance with us tonight. It's just one night. One dance."

"With one maniac."

"I've been diagnosed as mentally healthy, I'll have you know," Axel said, "So I'm neither a lunatic, psycho, nor maniac."

Pence and Olette stood up.

"It's not that big a deal Roxas," Pence said.

"We came all this way just to meet him after all," Olette reminded them, "it would be silly if we didn't spend any time with him."

"You came all this way just to meet me?" Axel asked in exaggerated flattery.

"Fine, fine," Roxas yielded (again). "Whatever. I'm tired of arguing. Let's just go already."

Ignoring Roxas' obvious exasperation, the group rejoiced and dragged Roxas out between the huddle of gyrating bodies. It was Axel's hand that had wrapped around his wrist and in the dimly lit room amongst the deafening music, Roxas lost awareness of exactly where he was for a second until he and Axel came to a stop.

His head was starting to pound a little with the music and he could begin to feel the effects of all those drinks weigh in on him. He looked around for his friends and then looked up at Axel in confusion.

"Where're the others?" Roxas asked, frowning slightly as he snatched his wrist out of Axel's grasp.

Axel looked around innocently, a little too innocently Roxas thought.

"We must have lost them in this crowd," Axel said. "Oh well, I only wanted to see you dance anyway."

Axel peered down at Roxas with a devious grin about his face, and Roxas, even in his oncoming drunken stupor, could register that the bastard was up to something.

* * *

_**(1)The pencil/pen in the pocket thing is just a personal quirk of mine. You never know when you're going to need to write. I also always carried a folded up piece of blank paper in my back pocket.**_

**A/N: Ya, ya! Terminaste… for now! Muahaha. Plz review. Thanks a million.**


	3. III

EDIT: Shit. I forgot to edit in the boarder breaks. Sorry if it caused any confusion. --

**A/N: WTF is Chicken Little good for in KH2? Rly?**

* * *

"What" -hiccup- "What are you doing?" Roxas frowned up at the red head.

Smirk still plastered on his face, Axel shrugged as he began to move to the downbeat of the music, not exerting any real energy to do so.

"Just dancing, Roxie," he said nonchalantly, not missing a beat. "Care to join me?"

"'Course not, dipshit," Roxas slurred, his footing threatening to give way. Axel quickly caught him, however. Roxas frowned as he observed one of Axel's hands on his waist and the other on his shoulder. He tried laxly to escape his grasp. "I can stand on my own."

Axel took his hands away and Roxas immediately began to fall over to one side. Axel caught him again, this time with both hands on either of Roxas' hips.

"What was that?" Axel asked smugly.

Roxas narrowed his eyes indignantly and with a sudden unexpected force and broke free of Axel's grasp.

"I can stand on my own!" he huffed. "I can dance on my own too and oooh I love this song!!"

Roxas had never heard this song before, but he began to move his hips to the rhythm anyway.

It wasn't a slow song, but really, there were two ways one could choose to dance to any song: To the downbeat; the slow steady pace and back bone of any song. It was for the cool, lackadaisical type dancers with no real sort of dancing skills. Or you could opt for the upbeat; the fast pulsating rhythm that generally predominates over the entire pace of the song. Only those with dancing talent could dance to the upbeat and still make it look good. Make it look fluid and easy.

But then there were the elite few, people with TRUE dancing abilities that could find some harmonious movements that fitted both the upbeat and the downbeat fluidly.

People like Roxas.

Roxas had always been told he was a good dancer, but it was never something he would pride himself upon. He'd never taken classes or anything. He was what they would call a natural. He found it was a generally embarrassing experience.

That didn't matter though when he was drunk beyond recognition.

Axel peered down, captivated by the sight before him. Even if he was drunk and out of his wits, his body was having no problem gracefully and skillfully dancing to the music, keeping up seamlessly with the tempo.

It made Axel halt his own movements subconsciously just to take in Roxas'.

Roxas was becoming less and less aware of his surroundings, however. Through all the alcohol, his good senses and wise judgment were being beat down by his wild impulses and instincts.

And said impulses and instincts were driving him to dance until he couldn't stand anymore. Then Roxas suddenly felt himself crash into something big, bulky, and sturdy.

Roxas stopped moving and turned around incredulously to face the thing that had halted his movements. He found himself facing a very wide, but not overweight, very muscular, and very tall man. He had short, dark hair and a thick, vein-y neck-. He looked like he could be somebody's hit man.

The man had also turned around to find who it was that had bumped into him. His eyes found Roxas briefly, but as he was about to turn back around to shrug the whole incident off, Roxas took his hand and hooked it into the hit man's elbow, yanking the man back around to face him.

"How _dare_ you," Roxas spat up at the man, taking the hand he had just used to turn him around to now violently poke him in his big, scarily big, pectorals.

The man glanced down at him warily, before Axel decided it was time to intervene.

"OK Roxie," Axel laughed nervously, avoiding eye contact with hit man, "I think that's enough dance time for you…"

"Get off of me you… you… YOU!" Roxas slurred, ferociously freeing himself of Axel's grasp and shoving the red-head aside. "And you, Mr. Wants-the-whole-damn-world-to-know-he-basically-LIVES-at-the-gym, you'd better start watching where I'm dancing! And take a break from Bally's- really, your muscles are starting to look like man-boobs."

The hit man grabbed Roxas by his collar threateningly and glared down at him.

"You wanna repeat that?" he had a forcefully low tone.

"I said you have man-boobs," Roxas said, mimicking Hit man's baritone voice.

"Ha-hey, Roxas," Axel said, falsely cheerful, prying Roxas' collar free from the man's grasp, "Shut up. Look, I'm sorry about this customer. He's obviously had a few too many drinks. Is there anything I can get you? It's on the house."

Axel had his arms wrapped tightly around Roxas' shoulders, and though the short blonde was struggling and protesting in attempt to free himself, no such thing was to happen.

Hit man straightened up, still eyeing Roxas in contempt.

"A daiquiri," the man said shortly, and was about to turn away again.

"PFFT," Roxas snorted, "What a gay drink, must be the boobs-mnn!!"

Axel had quickly covered his mouth, but he did so a little too late. Hit man turned around and sent a fist speeding Roxas' way, and the next memories Roxas had before blacking out completely was a loud cracking sound and a sharp pain on his face.

* * *

The light… it was so _blinding_.

The silence was so _loud_.

And his head kept pounding in a painful and incessant manner. Memories from last night suddenly flew to Roxas and he knew he was currently in hang over central. All the alcohol he had…

And what happened to Hayner and the others?

Roxas suddenly opted to take in his surroundings and realized he was lying on a bed, that wasn't his, in a room, that wasn't his, in a house, that probably wasn't his either.

The room wasn't small, but it wasn't huge, and it was square, kind of like his own. It had beige carpet and perfectly white walls. In one corner was the bed he was lying on, while in the other adjacent from the bed was a desk, covered in papers and topped with a laptop.

Of the other two corners, one held a dresser while the other had a door, which Roxas assumed led to the closet. The door leading outside the bedroom was wide open, and located on the wall between the dresser and the desk.

But how did he get there?

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, trying desperately to recall the events that unfolded last night. The last thing he could conjure was a big, dangerous looking man swinging a fist towards his face. Roxas' hand instantly flew to his nose, then his forehead, and then his mouth- searching for signs of scarring or pain.

Nothing.

And then Roxas noticed the spiky red mass settled near his hips. He instantly registered it to be Axel's hair. The red-head was kneeling at the bedside, hunched over with his face buried in his arms and apparently sleep.

Almost autonomously, Roxas sat up and shoved the red-head off the bed and away from him.

It was enough to rouse him.

Axel fell on his back with a pained shout and Roxas noticed a long cut that was on his cheek. Roxas kept on sitting and began waiting patiently for Axel to stop… writhing… in pain? All he had done was push the man down. There was no reason for him to react like that.

Axel let out a chain of swears before managing to stand back up on his knees, clutching on to his side as he did so.

"What the hell was that for?!" Axel hissed angrily as he glared at Roxas venomously.

Roxas almost felt bad for it.

Almost.

"What's wrong with you?" Roxas asked squarely, "And what happened to your face?"

Axel brought his free hand up to his cheek and winced as it made contact.

He then shrugged.

"I'm fine," was his brilliant response.

Roxas lowered his eye lids, not buying it, and a little offended that Axel thought his inquiries would be so easily satisfied.

Roxas scanned the room for a clock, and found one perched above the room's exit door. It read 11:23. Roxas sighed, and counted his blessings that he hadn't had any plans for the day.

"Mind filling me in on what happened last night?" Roxas asked the still kneeling Axel, before shaking his head lightly. He could still smell the alcohol on his own breath.

Axel shrugged again.

"You drank your brains out."

Roxas threw his feet over the edge of the bed before standing up- he hadn't been under the plain black covers on the bed.

"And what did you do?" Roxas asked the man hunched over. "Why am I here? Wasn't there this guy who punched me? Why am I not hurt?"

"Sheesh, again with the 21 questions?" Axel chuckled, which was cut short by a pained groan as he clung to his side again.

Roxas sighed before bending down (but not very much really) to help Axel to his feet, and plopped the older man down on his bed, none to gently either.

"Where's your bathroom?" Roxas asked Axel as the latter tried to get comfortable on his bed.

"Just turn right when you walk out of the door," Axel responded, "It's the door all the way on the end."

"Right," Roxas said, "When I come back, I'm gonna drag what happened out of you, so either you be prepared to tell me the truth, or take this time to cook up some good lie."

"Aye-aye Cap'n Roxie!" Axel affirmed.

Roxas sighed at his idiocy and proceeded to the bathroom. The hallway was a bit on the short side, and pretty simple in design. Right outside of the door was the staircase, a dangerous set up Roxas thought, and one end was the bathroom, while on the other was some other door Roxas didn't care to venture into. Who knew what kind of fetishes a crazed man like Axel would keep in his house?

When Roxas was finished using the bathroom, he went over to the sink to wash his hands and face. Besides having to pee really badly, Roxas wanted to find some sort of first aid for Axel's face. The cut along his cheek wasn't exactly a light scratch, and the blood that had oozed from it was dried down Axel's cheek.

Roxas began rummaging through the medicine cabinet and found a bottle of Peroxide and some cotton swabs. No bandages though.

Roxas sighed in a frustrated manner, grabbed the necessary items, and headed back towards the bedroom, trying again to remember what had happened last night. He couldn't really depend on Axel's version of the evening.

He entered the room to find Axel sitting up on his bed. Roxas set down the peroxide and cotton balls on the desk -over all the unorganized paperwork- before unscrewing the lid to the former and soaking one of the latter in it.

Axel eyed him as Roxas made his way over to the bed, and sat down on it beside the green eyed man.

"Ready to tell me about last night?" Roxas said, grabbing onto Axel's chin and turning his head so that his wounded cheek was facing Roxas.

"What're you- OUCH!"

Axel flinched violently as Roxas pressed the cotton ball to the scratch.

"Calm down," Roxas chided, trying to keep Axel still, "the more you move around the more it's gonna sting."

Axel settled down again and Roxas resumed his work, ignoring the mild twitches Axel was giving every time he traced over new territory.

"Well?" Roxas demanded.

"Alright alright," Axel sighed, "It's like this: you were drunk, and I mean _out_ of it. And you started dancing, and man was that a sight, you looked so- AAH! Okay okay! While you were dancing you bumped into this guy, this big, tough looking guy. And you picked a fight with him. _You_, who can't be more than 5'6", decided to mouth off to a guy who had to at _least_ been 6'7"."

Roxas was almost done with cleaning the scratch, and was listening intently. So far he remembered all of that.

"Well even after I tried to save your neck twice, you still ended up pissing him off, and he did throw a fist at you. A pretty heavy one if I say so myself."

"Well then where are my injuries?" Roxas asked, cleaning the blood from Axel's face.

"They're right here," Axel said, pointing vaguely to him, "I had been holding you to try and keep you from jumping on the guy, and when he attacked, I kinda just instinctively took the blow for you. I'm pretty sure I've got a cracked rib or two."

Roxas had stopped altogether and just began to stare at Axel in utter disbelief.

"Oh don't worry," Axel said smugly, "That was the last serious hit he got on me, I kicked his ass after that, and brought you here. I didn't have the key to your apartment, and you didn't either."

Roxas reached in one of his pants pockets and pulled out a set of noisy keys.

"My keys are right here," Roxas said.

"Oh."

Roxas shook his head and waved off the key issue for the time being.

"So you, _you_, scrawny anorexic bartender, took a major blow for me and then turned around and beat muscle-head man?"

"Hey!" Axel protested indignantly, "I am _not_ scrawny, and they don't just hire bartenders there for their dashing good looks ya know? They have to be able to break up a brawl that might happen to erupt."

Roxas inwardly groaned and finished cleaning up Axel's face. The guy had taken a hit from him, and from the sounds of it, saved his face. How could he hate a guy he was indebted to?

Roxas heaved a sigh before standing back up, bloody cotton ball in hand.

"Thank you," he told Axel sincerely, and then collected what he had brought from the bathroom, "I'll be right back. Then I'll take a look at your ribs and decide if we need to go to the ER or not."

So that's exactly what Roxas did. He took everything to the bathroom, put it all away, flushed the soiled cotton ball, and trotted back into the room, the whole time thinking about his friends and what happened to them.

Roxas walked into the room and instructed Axel to take his shirt off.

"I don't think I can," Axel said in an exaggeratedly distressed tone, "I'm too…weak…"

"Then hurry up and kick the bucket," Roxas retorted, "We're wasting day time here."

"Ice, ice baby," Axel chuckled, "But seriously, I don't think I can take my shirt off; I can barely lift my arms."

Roxas sighed and sat beside Axel again.

"Baby," Roxas chastised.

"So I go from psycho/lunatic/maniac to baby now?" Axel spat as Roxas grabbed a chunk of Axel's black tee shirt and lifted.

"No," Roxas told him as he examined Axel's damaged body, "You're still all of those. Man this is pretty bad."

Roxas eyed the injury on his right side. It covered a pretty considerable expanse of skin and wrapped around from back to front, though the injuries were more extensive on the back. His skin was bruised badly, but no skin breaks.

Then Roxas noticed that, despite the size of his waist, Axel was defined. Roxas felt a little uneasy for noticing, but it wasn't exactly something that was hard to miss.

Roxas gently put his fingers to the wound and Axel jumped in un-proportional pain.

"Alright," Roxas said, letting go of Axel's shirt and standing up, "We're going to the ER."

Guilt had been stabbing at Roxas ever since he'd found out that Axel had defended him. Though honestly, if Axel had let it be, Roxas was more than capable of taking care of himself as well.

"If the front of my car is too cramped for you-"

Then it hit Roxas. His car. It was still at the club wasn't it? Panic immediately began to settle in. He'd left his car in the club's parking lot.

Axel seemed to have registered what was going on in Roxas' mind.

"Don't worry," Axel told him, "People end up leaving cars there on a daily basis. We give them a three day grace period to retrieve it before selling it for some change."

Roxas let out a little breath of relief, but was still worried. How could he not be? He'd worked so hard to convince his parents to get him that car for his graduation gift.

"Alright then," Roxas said, "Give me your car keys."

"So demanding," Axel said, straightening out his shirt, "I think I left them in the door last night-"

"What's wrong with you?" Roxas cut over him, "What kind of person-"

"The kind with a broken rib carrying some unconscious midget." Axel said shortly.

An odd mixture of guilt and anger overtook Roxas and he simply chose to remain silent.

"Look, you don't have to take me anywhere," Axel suddenly said, "I can-"

"It's not like I want to spend anymore time with you than necessary," Roxas bit, "You annoy me. But you're only like this because of me. What kind of person would that make me if I just up and left you right now? Now get your ass up so we can head over to the hospital."

"Ok but…"

"But?"

"I gotta pee."

* * *

"The ER is going to be packed," Axel sighed as Roxas parked the car in the spot nearest to the building. "And it's going to take forever- and I don't have insurance you know."

"Don't worry about those things," Roxas told the red-head as he stepped out of the car and walked around to help Axel out.

"You're making me feel so helpless," Axel told Roxas, who he was now using as a crutch as they made their way to the hospital building.

"You are," Roxas let him know as he watched out for traffic.

"Oh Roxie, the moral support is just so overwhelming."

"Why do you need moral support from me when I'm already physically supporting you?" Roxas rebutted, as he pushed the door to the Emergency Room open. As Axel had predicted, it was pretty packed; with the bleeding, with the bruised, with the twisted up.

Roxas looked for the nearest available seat and sat Axel down there. "Be quiet, be still, and behave."

"Do you get off on telling me what to do?" Axel asked snidely as Roxas walked away to the receptionist desk.

"Afternoon," Roxas said to the woman behind the desk, "I'd like to see Doctor-"

"Please sign your name and have a seat sir," the woman said none too politely.

"Please get me Doctor Aulderman." Roxas persisted, "Tell him Roxas is here."

The woman pursed her lips angrily.

"Sir," she said a little forcefully, "I asked you to please sign your name and take a seat, like every other patient here."

"And _I_ told _you_ to get me the good doctor," Roxas replied, agitated. This girl was new, so it was given that she wouldn't recognize his face, "Or don't you like your job? Please, go get him. I'll wait here."

The woman stood up in a huffy manner and disappeared through the door behind the desk. She returned some minutes later and sat down in her seat, not looking up to meet Roxas' eyes once.

In a door that led to the examination rooms, a tall, statuesque, but aging man appeared, adorned in a white coat.

His eyes seemed to find Roxas immediately.

"Roxas," he said, walking briskly over towards the young man, "is something the matter? Why are you here?"

"No, no I'm fine," Roxas assured the man, who was at least a head taller than him, "It's my… friend."

Roxas pointed to Axel, who was conversing casually with some man sitting beside him (whose armed was wrapped heavily in bloody bandages).

"The one with the hair?" The doctor asked.

"That's the one." Roxas said, "I think maybe he's fractured his 6th and 7th ribs, but he needs to be treated quickly-"

"Say no more," the doctor interrupted, "What's his name?"

"Axel."

"Axel!" The doctor shouted, letting him know it was his turn, then he lowered his voice to talk to Roxas again, "Bring him to Exam Room 2."

The doctor went back through the door as Roxas went back to crutch Axel to said exam room.

"What did you do?" Axel asked, a little startled by his immediate attention, "I've never been seen this quickly before, even with an appointment."

Roxas opened the door and shrugged as best he could without throwing Axel off balance.

"I know a guy who knows a guy."

Roxas led Axel to a rectangular room filled with standard exam room items; a bed, a chair, a trash can, a scale, and a sink. Roxas helped Axel onto the bed. No sooner had he done this did the doctor walk into the room, carrying a chart.

"Hello there Axel," he said in a friendly tone as Roxas took a seat in the chair in the room to stay out of the doctors way. "I hear we're here for a rib injury."

Roxas wanted to roll his eyes out how doctors always talked to their patients as though they were children.

"I hear the same thing," Axel replied.

The doctor chuckled and set the chart down on the bed beside Axel.

"Alright," he said, now standing right in front of Axel, "Can you take your shirt off?"

"No," Axel said, "Well I suppose I could, but it hurts like hell to lift my arms."

"Right," the doctor said, lifting Axel's shirt up and examining the wound, "Wow that must have been some blunt force, does it hurt when you inhale?"

Axel shook his head, eyes squinted in pain as the doctor began poking and prodding at the wounds.

"When I cough, or laugh though," he said, "It's almost unbearable."

The doctor nodded and released Axel's shirt.

"How did this happen?"

Roxas was suddenly tense. He didn't know how Axel was going to answer that one, and he wasn't sure he wanted that doctor to know the truth.

Axel laughed nervously.

"I'm a bit of a klutz," he began, "fallen down the stairs and landed the wrong way."

Roxas breathed a sigh of relief.

"And what about this cut on your cheek?" the doctor inquired, reaching into a pocket on his white coat and pulling out an alcohol pad and a big square bandage.

"Scratched my face on the railing on the way down," Axel said, "And you don't have to clean it again! Roxas already did that just before we came here."

The doctor laughed jovially and put the alcohol pad away.

"Did he now?" the doctor asked rhetorically, before fastening the bandage on Axel's cheek, "I'd expect nothing less."

The doctor shot Roxas a warm smile before turning back to Axel.

"Well it definitely sounds like you may have fractured a rib," he said, "we're going to do an X-ray to be sure though, and you will have to take your shirt off for that. Then I'm going to have to recommend button-downs for you until you become fully healed again."

Axel grimaced and the doctor grabbed the chart and walked towards the door, but paused for a second when he reached Roxas.

"Why don't you come home for dinner tomorrow night?" the doctor suggested, "Your mom is making pot roast."

Roxas didn't want to make any promises, since he felt kind of obligated to remain by Axel's side through his trouble. It was his fault after all. But when was Roxas ever one to say no to his parents?

"Alright, dad," Roxas said, "I'll be there."

Doctor Aulderman smiled and opened the door.

"Someone will come lead you to the x-ray room in a few minutes," he said to Axel before walking out of the door.

Roxas sighed and inwardly cursed his own weak will.

"So that's your pops?" Axel asked from across the room.

"That's him."

"Seems like a nice guy," Axel said, "Is he the express ticket we used to get in this room?"

"Yep," Roxas nodded.

"That's a lotta freedom for a doctor to have," Axel observed.

"He's the hospital's director."

"Wow."

"Yep."

There was an awkward silence.

"You're unexpectedly kind," Axel suddenly told Roxas, causing the blonde to look up in confusion.

"Unexpectedly?" Roxas asked indignantly.

"Unexpectedly," Axel didn't back down, "All you've ever been since I met you is mean to me."

"All you've ever been is agitating," Roxas said, getting agitated, just speaking about it. "And you do it on purpose!"

"But you're just too cute-"

"And stop saying things like that!" Roxas said, "It's gay."

"So what? Now you're a homophobe?"

"You're twisting my words," Roxas said through gritted teeth, "Gay's great, my brother's gay, I've got no problem with gay. I'm just not. And it makes me uncomfortable to hear another man calling me cute."

"I think it'd make you uneasy to hear a girl call you cute," Axel said, "You upset easily like that."

Axel was right.

Roxas wasn't going to admit it.

"I should have left you in your room," Roxas spat, "To die off."

"Why are you always so cruel to me Roxie?"

"'Cuz you keep calling me Roxie!"

"But it's so cute!"

"Stop that! You're being-"

"Gay?" Axel finished, "I'm going to let you in on a little secret, Roxie. I am gay."

Roxas didn't know why he wasn't more shocked by the revelation.

"Peachy," Roxas said, sitting back in his chair and folding his arms, "Then get yourself a boyfriend and call _him_ cute- and slap a 'y' at the end of _his_ name."

"Well where's the fun in that?" Axel asked.

Roxas was a bit thrown off by the comment.

"Where's the fun in doing it to me?" he demanded.

Suddenly a tall, lean nurse burst through the door with a wheel chair.

"The x-ray is ready," she said, and helped Axel into the chair.

Roxas rolled his eyes at the interruption and didn't miss the smug smirk on Axel's face as the nurse rolled him out of the room.

* * *

**A/N: Hey there readers. So I really just want to share this with you very quickly before you go. I write guy lemons. And realize, I know next to nada about a guy's actual anatomy (you know, the science behind it). Especially the sexual aspect of it. So I researched it. Namely anal sex. **

**I found out that the prostate, the stuff that makes our beloved yaoi lemons even _PLAUSIBLEsss_s a gland, located some two inches in (through their asshole) and towards the belly button.**

**Now with that being said, I suddenly find myself recalling ALL these fics (including mine I'll admit) where you have these guys with more than their fair share of family jewels, ramming it up a guys ass and taking a while before they hit the prostate. Now I'll admit that the angling may be heavily responsible for this, but I think it highly unrealistic now that itd take so long before you hit the sweet spot.**

**It seems in fact like it'd be immediate. I do not know why, ladies (and gents O.o ??) but I had a strong urge to rant to you about this. **

**Review and I'll love you always! (minus forever plus two days)**


	4. IV

-1**A/N: Who remembers Zaboomafoo?! Who can it be, this animal that I did see… can you help me guess this… MYSTERY!! Ok ok, on with the chapter.**

* * *

Roxas was sitting in the waiting room, waiting for Axel to come back from his X-ray. He had moved there from the exam room, deciding not to do any more injustice to the waiting patients than he already had by keeping a room tied up. It had already been twenty minutes and the sight of all the sick and injured people was beginning to make Roxas uneasy.

He was sitting between a man with blood running out of a bloody gauze pad over his right eye and a woman whose fingers on her left hand all seemed to be bending the other way**(1)**. He was trying not to look at either for any extended period of time, finding that every time he did be came close to tasting all that alcohol he had again.

He pulled out his phone planning to call Hayner and ask him what happened to them last night, but noticed the extremely low battery on his phone. Just flipping it open would probably be enough to kill off the last of it. Roxas sighed and stuffed the electronic back into his pocket and really wished he had been able to shower this morning. He made a point to take a shower as soon as he got out of here.

The door leading to the exam rooms burst open and the nurse that had wheeled Axel away came wheeling him back in. Roxas stood up as the nurse approached him.

"Thanks Sylvia," Axel said, plastering a charming smile on his face as Roxas went to help him up. Roxas then noticed that Axel held in his hands a big brown envelope, carrying what he assumed were the x-rays.

The nurse, apparently named Sylvia, blushed and murmured something incoherent as Axel swatted Roxas' hands away.

"I can do it on my own," he said as he (none too easily) stood from the wheel chair.

"Oh," Roxas said in a mock impressed voice, "well would you look at that."

"Stare too long and I'll have to start charging," Axel responded, a little hunched over. He turned to Sylvia. "Have a nice day, beautiful."

The nurse blushed even more and took herself and the wheel chair back through the door.

"Quite the charmer," Roxas commented as he made his way to the door, Axel following closely behind, "May I?"

He was referring to the envelope in Axel's hands.

Axel handed the envelope over as Roxas held the door open for Axel to limp through. Outside in the bright daylight, Roxas watched as the taller man seemed to struggle to stay up.

"You sure you alright?" Roxas asked, sliding the translucent plastic sheets from the envelope as Axel scanned the parking lot for oncoming traffic.

"I'm fine," Axel said irritably and walked, at a rather slow pace, to his car.

Roxas, after making sure the road was clear, followed suit. Once at the vehicle, he held the x-rays into the sunlight so he could get a clear view.

"Ouch," Roxas muttered to himself. From the scan he could see that Axel had fractured both his sixth and seventh ribs at the neck of the bones**(2)**. Luckily the bone hadn't punctured any thing, but his sixth rib had suffered a clean break, and was resting dangerously against his left lung. If it weren't for the costal cartilage that connected the sixth through tenth ribs together, who knows where that rib would be.

Axel noticed the pained expression on Roxas' face from across the top of the silver Camaro.

"That bad, eh?" Axel asked.

Roxas returned the x-rays to their carrier before grabbing the keys from his pocket and unlocking the car.

"Didn't they explain it to you?" Roxas asked once he and Axel were seated within the automobile.

"Like I could decipher that doctor talk," Axel said, reclining the passenger seat to a comfortable angle.

Roxas threw the x-rays in the back seat and revved the engine.

"You've got a masters in Physics," Roxas reminded him as he backed out of his spot, "I'm _sure_ you've taken an anatomy class or two somewhere down that line."

"Do you have any idea how long ago that was?" Axel scoffed, "And I barely passed those classes as they were; really, _what_ is the necessity of having such long and complicated names for every inside part of the human body? Why did they individually name each bone and muscle?"

Roxas couldn't help but smile at that, then quickly stopped as he realized the reason behind the smile.

He thought it was adorable.

Shivers ran through Roxas' body as he tried to rid the thought from his mind. The very _thought_ of the thought made his gastric juices curdle in unease**(3)**.

Roxas was driving home; he hadn't forgotten his vow to shower as soon as was humanly possible.

Suddenly Roxas heard an odd song beginning to play out of nowhere and saw out of the corner of his eye as Axel reached into one of his jeans' pockets and withdrew a snazzy looking PDA.

Axel pushed the a button and brought the phone to his ear.

"Yo," he answered.

Roxas rolled his eyes at the greeting. It sounded to him like Axel was purposely trying to sound cool.

"Sorry," Axel said to the person on the other end, "But I have a good reason! I got the shit beat out of me last night; broke two ribs. I just came from the hospital."

A pause.

"Why the hell could I come up with something like that?!" Axel demanded indignantly, "I wouldn't lie about something that could so easily be proved untrue."

Roxas made a left and was grateful that the hospital was only a ten minute drive away from his apartment.

"Sure. Mm-hmm. No, no problem at all."

Roxas was starting to feel uncomfortable eavesdropping.

"No, he's right here."

Roxas frowned and wondered who Axel must have been hiding in the back seat of the car.

Suddenly Axel pulled the phone away from his ear and pressed it to Roxas'.

"Say 'hi'," Axel commanded, and Roxas jerked his head away angrily from the phone.

"What are you crazy?!" he hissed at Axel, "I don't know who that is, and I'm _driving_. Do you want to get us killed?!"

Axel pulled the phone back to his own ear and Roxas sat up straight his seat again.

"Yeah, he's always like that," Axel said, nodding his head.

Roxas growled in frustration as he switched over to he next lane, suppressing the urge to speed all the way home, just to get away from Axel and his antics.

"Ok look, I'll make it up to you. Come over tonight instead."

Roxas tried to detach himself from the conversation.

"I don't know, get creative," Axel said, in what not even Roxas could mistake was a seductive voice.

Now he was really feeling uneasy. So did Axel already have a boyfriend? Roxas wouldn't have put it past the bartender. He seemed like the type who would keep flirting with random people even if he were taken.

"Right. See you then. Bye."

Axel hung the phone up and stuffed it back in his pocket before glancing over at Roxas.

"Would it have been so hard just to say one little, two letter word?" Axel asked.

"Not at all," Roxas replied.

"Why do you always seem to be in such a sour mood?"

"It's really only when you're around." Roxas told him, "But I thought you said it was 'cute'."

Roxas made air quotes with one hand.

Axel laughed before suddenly stopping and sucking in a breath of pain.

"It _is_," Axel assured him, "I was just wondering if there were any particular reason behind it."

Roxas didn't answer. He would focus only on getting home. He didn't want to play into Axel's little sadistic game anymore than he already had.

"I'm going to go home," Roxas said, "And take a shower. I suggest you do the same thing."

"You sayin' I smell?" Axel asked.

"Yes I am," Roxas replied.

"Well I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to manage that," Axel said and lifted up his shirt. "They bandaged me all the way around."

Roxas shot a quick glance at the bandages before back up at the road.

"Didn't they give you instructions?" Roxas inquired, "How to replace them and all that."

"Yeah but…"

"But?"

"That nurse was just too cute and adorable!" Axel said, "I couldn't help but play with her; even through the doctor's talking."

"I thought you were gay," Roxas said, frowning in confusion.

"Well can't I still have a little fun?"

"No," Roxas responded, "It's a pretty cruel thing for you to do."

"What? How is it _cruel_?"

Roxas sighed.

"Think about it," he said, "you keep flirting with all these different people, you don't think that one day one of them is going to actually _want_ you, and want you to want them too? It's cruel to flirt so superfluously."

Axel was quiet for a second.

"Ah you always sound so wise when you're not being mean, Roxie."

Roxas didn't miss the subject change.

"Stop calling me that," Roxas said half-heartedly, knowing the request was in vain. "As for the bandages, take your shower- or you might actually want to go with a bath, and I'll show you how to rewrap your bandages."

"Okay," Axel said, "But you know I don't have any at home."

Roxas nodded understandingly.

"I do."

"How do you know all this medical crap anyway?" Axel asked. "Aren't you a freshman?"

"Who told you that?" Roxas demanded, a little indignant that he was giving off such strong freshman vibes.

"Just a hunch," Axel replied. "Well aren't you? Even if you were pre-med or something, classes only started this week."

Roxas hesitated before answering. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of this guy knowing too much about him.

"I've been studying medicine for my whole life," Roxas finally answered, "My parents have been planning for me to be a doctor since infancy practically. All those long and complicated names for every bone and muscle in the body you mentioned earlier, I memorized all of them years ago."

"Wow."

Roxas decided to remain silent then. Everything he'd just said was true. His parents had been pushing for him to be a doctor forever, so he can take over the hospital one day. They'd wanted Sora to become a doctor too, but if Sora's heart isn't in something, it's hard to make him do it. And no part of Sora had any desire to become a doctor.

"You know you've been awfully supportive of a 'crazed psycho/lunatic/maniac' that you find 'annoying'." Axel said, changing the subject.

Roxas sighed.

"I told you earlier. It's my fault you're all broken. I'm only doing this out of moral obligation."

"Are you sure it's not because I'm starting to win you over," Axel said, "What with my stellar charms and dangerously good looks…"

"Pigs will be roller skating down the street before that happens," Roxas said shortly.

* * *

Roxas was standing in the middle of his living room; a wide open space, shaped as rectangularly**(4)** as every other room in the house. He had a couch against one wall and the loveseat on the other. The floors were hardwood, but on the floor between the two couches was an area rug. On the wall between the couches, the television rested, with a side table on either side of it.

Roxas ran his towel through his still-moist hair and went over to the side table that held his phone's charger.

Currently, Roxas was only wearing a pair of black boxers, even though he had a pair of jeans resting across his shoulder. He'd been too lazy to slip them on when he came out of the shower. But this was something he wouldn't be doing if his roommate were home. Hayner, apparently, hadn't come back last night.

Roxas slung the towel over his free shoulder and plugged his charger in, hooked it into his phone,(which had managed to stay alive) and dialed Pence's number.

No answer.

He tried Olette.

Nothing.

He then called Hayner, and on the fourth ring, he picked up.

"Hey, Roxas," he said nervously. He sounded guilty.

"Hayner," Roxas ventured, "Where are you? What happened to you last night?"

A woman's voice suddenly murmured something on the other end.

Ah, so that's what it was.

"Oh," Roxas said, understanding.

"Look man-"

"No, no," Roxas interrupted, "No need to explain. You're an adult, you can make your own decisions. You don't have to answer to me."

Honestly, Roxas had expected nothing less from his best friend.

"Roxas…" Hayner said, remorse lacing his tone.

"Really Hayner," Roxas said, "It's ok. I did want to ask you though, if you know what happened to Pence and Olette."

Hayner was silent for a moment (thinking, Roxas assumed).

"I don't," he finally answered, "They were there last night when I left, I _told_ them when I was about to leave. They said they were going to go look for you and Axel."

"I haven't seen them since we all went out to dance last night," Roxas explained, "But alright. I'll let you go now. It's getting pretty late though."

It was now almost one in the afternoon.

"I know," Hayner said, "Slept in."

"Right," Roxas said, not wanting anymore details than that, "Later then."

"Later."

Roxas snapped his phone shut when he'd suddenly heard the doorbell ring. It was a loud doorbell that made a horrible screeching sort of ring; Roxas always cringed whenever he heard it. What made it worse was that this particular visitor kept ringing it over and over.

And _over._

To put an end to his misery, Roxas ran to the door and quickly swung it open, sure that he was looking quite estranged. Exactly who he found standing in front of him did nothing to calm his temper either. It had to have been less than an hour since he'd gotten home. Couldn't he have an _hour_ without having to look at the green-eyed maniac?

"WHAT!" Roxas exclaimed angrily as the redhead peered down at him with those vibrantly green, and widened eyes.

"Well well," Axel said, "How much do I owe you for the show?"

Roxas narrowed his eyes in confusion as Axel pointed downwardly towards Roxas.

Roxas looked down and immediately felt his heart plummet and blood speed upwards to his face. He instantaneously slammed the door in Axel's face and hurriedly pulled his baggy jeans off his shoulder and on his body, buttoning and zipping them up in a flustered fashion.

Roxas slowly, very slowly, opened the door again, gazing at Axel warily.

"What do you want?" he asked Axel ominously.

"Aww how adorable, you've got a little definition starting to show up on your stomach, that is just too cute! I thought for sure you'd be some scrawny little-"

"Goodbye."

"No wait! You said you would show me how to re-bandage myself," Axel said in a cheerful manner, nonplussed by Roxas' hostility.

It was at this point that Roxas noticed that Axel was wearing a black, long sleeved button down shirt and a pair of dark blue denim jeans. Even from where he was standing, Roxas could smell the scent of whatever soap he used on himself.

"Right," Roxas sighed, opening the door all the way and walking off, "Come on in and take a seat."

Roxas rushed to the bathroom to get his Ace Bandages™, to get Axel out as soon as possible. These days without Namine were supposed to be ones of rest and relaxation. She'd barely been gone a week and already Roxas found himself running around even more than when she was here.

Roxas returned with the bandages to see Axel sitting on the couch and fiddling with one of Hayner's trinkets on the coffee table. Roxas sighed and sat down on the coffee table in front of Axel.

"Weren't you taught the most basic of manners?" he asked the taller man, and snatching the oddly shaped object away from him and setting it back on the coffee table, "When you're in somebody else's home, don't touch anything."

"I must have missed that lesson," Axel responded absentmindedly as his eyes found the bandages.

It wouldn't have surprised Roxas if Axel wasn't joking.

"When you put the bandages on yourself," Roxas said, abruptly shifting the subject, "It might be a little uncomfortable; or painful. Try not to move your shoulder blades all that much in the process, because of your break's location, that could lead to some painful repercussions. Like so."

Roxas took some of the bandages and began to wrap them around his chest, starting below his pecs and working his way downward.

"I didn't do it very tightly," Roxas went on, "But you need to make sure that you do, otherwise its pointless. You want to keep the rib in place and give it time to heal itself properly. It may hurt, but coughing and laughing are recommended."

Roxas unwrapped the bandages and handed them over to Axel.

"I didn't really take you for the type to work out," Axel said, still eyeing Roxas' bear skin as he began to unbutton his own shirt.

Roxas held back the urge to shove those bandages in Axel where the sun don't shine.

"I was on my high school's varsity tennis team for three years," Roxas explained, watching Axel as he began putting on the bandages, "Tighter."

"Tennis?" Axel said, tightening the first wrapping a little more, "Well now, Roxie, I must say you never fail to surprise me."

Roxas sat back on the coffee table when he suddenly heard the loud sounds of his vibrating phone beating continually against the wood of the side table. Roxas got up and looked at the caller ID before answering.

"Hey stranger," he said softly, "it's been a while."

"Sorry," Namine said, "It's been a little hectic over here. Haven't really had a chance to talk to you until now."

"That's fine," Roxas said, "so to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Can't a girl just call her boyfriend because she misses him?"

"A girl perhaps can," Roxas nodded, "You?"

"Ha, ha," Namine said, "Actually I did have a little favor to ask of you."

"See?"

"Well if you don't want to do it…"

So she was playing that card this time…

"No no, Namine," Roxas said, "You know I was joking. What do you need?"

"My parents and I left so hurriedly, we forgot about poor Pluto,"-Pluto was Namine's family's dog- "And he hasn't been fed in three days."

"Jesus Christ Namine!" Roxas blurted in shock. It wasn't like her or her parents to be so negligent.

"I know, I know!" she said repentantly, "That's why I need you to get over there ASAP to feed him. No one else but you and Leon have a spare key; and we cant reach him."

Leon was Namine's older brother, a bit of a rebel too.

"I'll go over there as soon as I can," Roxas said, "An hour tops."

She let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks Roxas," she breathed, "I know I can always count on you."

Roxas was shaking his head, only fearing what sort of suffering Pluto must be undergoing.

"Was that all then?" Roxas asked her.

"About," she replied, "Just wanted to ask you to feed Pluto and let you know how much I miss you."

"Well I'm still waiting for that second part," Roxas said with a smirk.

Axel coughed, reminding Roxas that he was still there.

Namine laughed.

"I'll show you that when we get back," She said suggestively.

"At the end of the month?" Roxas asked smugly, "That's a long time to wait."

"Then I'll just have to make up for it then, won't I?"

"I'm holding you to that," Roxas said, before glancing back at Axel. "But I'm a little tied up at the moment. I'll talk to you later, alright? And I'll take care of Pluto while you're gone."

"Ok," she said sweetly, "take care."

"You too."

Roxas was praying she wouldn't tell him she loved him while Axel was there; he didn't want to have to reply to it with him in the room.

"Bye."

Roxas closed his phone and saw Axel was already fully dressed again.

"Talk about an out-dated phone. So that was the slave-driver eh?" Axel asked, leaning back on the couch to make himself more comfortable.

Roxas scowled, and ignored the shot at his three year old flip phone.

"I'll ask you not to talk about my girlfriend that way, and if we're done here, get out of my house."

Axel groaned in protest.

"But the walk over here was so _strenuous_," he said, "don't make me walk back already. Give a cripple some time to recover."

Roxas felt another stab of guilt.

"Fine," he conceded, "two minutes."

"You call that a recovery?" Axel snorted, "The walk alone took ten minutes."

"You live right next door!"

"I've got two broken ribs!" Axel countered.

"OKAY!" Roxas snapped, "Stay then! Geez."

Axel smiled contentedly and settled against the couch even more.

"You're so kind, Roxie! I hope I'm not imposing too much," he said innocently, propping his feet on the coffee table.

Roxas eyed the appendages, glowering.

"I have somewhere to go," Roxas said, making his way over to where Axel was and violently throwing his feet off of his furniture, "So I'm going to go finished getting dressed, and then I'm leaving. You have until then to finish 'recovering'."

"Oh, right right," Axel nodded, "Master has given you an order."

Roxas ignored him as he made his way upstairs to his room, all sympathy and guilt he'd felt for the man rapidly disappearing. He had to go all the way to Namine's house though, and she and her parents lived all the way in uptown Prideland. That was a 45 minute drive on a traffic _free _day.

Roxas got dressed quickly, wearing a black long-sleeved shirt under blue polo. He slipped on some socks and sneakers and grabbed his keys before making his way back downstairs to find that Axel was missing from the couch. Roxas looked around vaguely before making his way to the archway that lead into the kitchen.

The kitchen was an oddly shaped room. Irregular. There were nooks in every corner it seemed. Against the only available flat wall rested the dinner table. On the other end of the kitchen were the counter, the stove, the sink, and the refrigerator. One corner of the room actually wasn't the kitchen at all, it was a whole closed off section of its own, a half bathroom.

On another wall, the one straight ahead of anyone who was coming in from the living room, was a sliding glass door that led to the gated off patio outside. Past that patio was a section of the parking lot, but that didn't really matter all that much. It wasn't the section Roxas would park his car in.

It was an odd set up, but what Roxas found even odder at the moment was that Axel was standing outside, perusing through random ornaments Hayner set out there. Roxas rushed over and sliding the door open with a loud bang, walked up to a startled Axel.

"Speedy recovery," Roxas observed, "What're you doing?'

Axel shot Roxas a goofy grin.

"Just browsing," he answered, "These houses are all generally the same layout. I just wanted to see what you did with yours."

"I didn't really do anything. Hayner decorated every room in this place."

"Even your bedroom?"

Roxas paused. That had been the one room Hayner hadn't touched. And the half of Roxas' things were still in boxes because of it.

"It's pretty crowded out here," Axel said, not waiting for Roxas to reply, "Stuff all over the place."

"Hayner's a bit of a pack rat," Roxas agreed, looking around. There were at least ten chairs on the patio, a couple of beach balls, two bikes leaned up against the gate, and some lawn ornaments that Hayner felt would give it that "homey touch".

It just looked like a mess to Roxas.

"Well get out now," Roxas said abruptly, before turning around a kicking a beach ball out of the way, "I'm about to leave."

"And you call me rude," Axel muttered from behind Roxas, "Seems like I've got more ma-OOF!"

Roxas turned around in time to see Axel falling; right his way. Before Roxas had time to move, the redhead had toppled on top of him and they fell on the cement of the patio with a painful thud. Painful for Roxas at least. It had been his back to have fallen flat against the solid non-shock absorbent surface.

He'd managed to keep the back of his head from slamming against the ground, only to have his forehead collide with Axel's.

Currently, It was Roxas lying flat against the ground and Axel resting on him, one hand on either side of Roxas' head, with absolutely no space to slide even paper between the two of them. Roxas groaned painfully and tried to toss Axel off of him, but was met with strong resistance.

"Wait."

* * *

**A/N: BOY do u have any idea how writing that phone call with Namine made my own gastric juices curdle? Lolz. Foot note time (boy there were a lot in this chappy).**

**(1) SERIOUSLY! One time I was in the E.R., and this guy had blood literally OOZING out of his arm, the bandages wrapped around it was doing basically nothing.**

**(2) Thank you physiology classes. **

**(3) Ew.**

**(4) No. Rectangularly is _not_ a word, but I don't really want to re-work that sentence. Haha, so I'm making it a word. Starting now. Tell your friends.**


	5. V

**A/N: I have a lot to say about this story. Haha.**

**I've realized a while ago there is no way in HELL it's going to be over in 20 chapters. So… there goes that plan. **

**AND DONT EVEN TALK TO ME about Fanfictions stupidity. sorry for the belatednes, but ff dot net wouldnt let me upload ANYHING or even edit anything all of yesterday. Dumbasses.**

**Anyhow, chapter five.**

* * *

Roxas froze at the word.

Axel's body was pressed quite flatly against his own, and (despite how he appeared) the redhead possessed no small amount of weight. Roxas began to squirm a little when he could feel Axel's heart beat against his own chest.

"Get off me-"

"Give me a second," Axel murmured through gritted teeth.

Roxas glanced sideways to see Axel's clenched fists resting on both sides of his head, before looking up to see the redhead's face, contorted in some sort of concentration. It occurred to Roxas then that Axel must be in some serious pain after taking a fall like that.

Not that _his_ back had been the one to take the brunt of the fall's force.

Moments went by like that and Axel's face relaxed. He opened his eyes and met Roxas', who at that point had been gazing at the taller (and apparently heavier) man with cautious concern.

"Don't tell me you need to go back to the ER," Roxas said, half joking, yet half serious at the same time.

Axel just continued to stare at Roxas, and this made the latter suddenly intensely aware that their faces were just inches away. And _that_ made him uneasy again. The unease only escalated with each moment passed in silence, with Axel's gaze continuing to pierce his own, before Axel suddenly lifted himself off of Roxas, (using primarily his right hand to do so) and taking the tension with him.

"Aww, Roxie," Axel said once he was on his feet again, "Your concern is-"

"Get out of my house," Roxas repeated, and stood up himself.

"…Touching," Axel finished sarcastically.

Roxas frowned at Axel's behavior and went to the sliding doors to wait for Axel to pass through it.

"Please make your departure quickly," Roxas bit, "I have a life to save."

Axel stared at Roxas in confusion as he walked stiffly and carefully into the house. Roxas followed him closely until they made it to the door.

"Well?" Roxas demanded when Axel froze.

"I'll be so lonely," Axel said in a purposefully hurt voice.

"Aren't you expecting company?" Roxas bit, reaching out and latching onto Axel's arm to forcefully drag him out of his house.

"Eavesdropping is very unbecoming Roxie," Axel said, suddenly solemn.

"Well it's not exactly like I had anywhere to escape to," Roxas bit as he locked the door behind the two of them, "Believe me; I'd rather not have heard that conversation."

"Ok," Axel said as Roxas began to walk off, "But before you go, I have one question."

Roxas stopped and turned around, not even trying to hide the exasperation on his face.

"What is it?"

"How are you going to get where you're going if your car is still in the club's parking lot?"

Roxas couldn't respond from the blow of that realization.

He had completely forgotten. He looked up at Axel, who was wearing the broadest of smirks across his bandaged face.

* * *

Axel followed Roxas up the four steps (which was now a very painful process, when every step he took would cause a surge of ridiculous pain to flare around the back of his chest area) that led to the porch of a very big, very fancy looking house. They were in the suburbs. Uptown Prideland. Where the rich of the rich lived. The porch --veranda was more accurate of a description-- was ordained with a small seating area and decorations that probably cost more than Axel paid on one month's rent.

"So, who lives here?" Axel asked as Roxas began to fidget with his keys.

"Quiet," Roxas bit as he found the right key, "And don't worry about it."

"Oh, you're badmouthing the kind and generous soul that lent you his car to come 'save a life'?"

"You _made_ me bring you along," Roxas said as he opened the door; the white door with gold lining around the window in the middle of it, and walked in. "That about cancels out any gratitude I might have felt."

"Like you weren't secretly pining for me to come," Axel said as he followed Roxas into the house and closed the door behind him. "And don't I still have some gratitude points left over from saving your face?"

Roxas ignored him as they stepped onto the polished hard wood floor of a foyer. A very large foyer lined with mirrors on either side, a side table along one of the mirrored walls, and a few expensive-looking vases.

Axel felt almost as though he were the grungiest thing in the room.

"If you're gonna be in here," Roxas' voice came from somewhere ahead, "Stay close."

Axel's eyes snapped onto the blonde as he walked through some grand archway into another, more elaborately decorated room. The common room, Axel surmised as he located a living room set on side of the room, and a rather gigantic staircase on the other. There were more archways that led to more elegant rooms, but Axel didn't have time to get a good look through any of them as Roxas began to lead him straight upstairs.

This kid was always full of surprises. Axel looked pensively at the back of the blonde spikes as the two of them ascended the stairs together. He was a bit of an anomaly to Axel. The boy was blaringly predictable, and yet at the same time, hard to read. Full of surprises (like this one), unexpectedly insightful, and one hell of a pushover, as Axel had observed.

"So where is this endangered life?" Axel asked, as they made it to the top of the stairs and onto a wide hallway, lined with creepy pictures and eerie wall decorations that only rich people seemed to think looked good.

"In his room," Roxas said, and made it all the way to the end of the hall before bursting through the door that rest there.

"Pluto!" Roxas shouted, and suddenly fell on his back as a golden haired dog came into sight, resting atop Roxas' chest.

Roxas laughed and turned his head away, shielding his face as this Pluto began try and lick at his face.

Axel couldn't help but admire the Kodak moment before him wistfully, noting that this was the first time he'd seen the boy really _smile._ He didn't have much time to dwell on this fact, however, as the canine soon came bounding over in his direction.

Axel would have bent down to meet the cheerfully barking dog had he been in a better condition to do so.

"He doesn't seem on the brink of life and death," Axel noted aloud as Roxas stood back up.

"He hasn't been fed in three days," the boy responded, dusting his clothes off. "C'mon boy. Let's go get some food."

"What?!" Axel exclaimed, "we're going _back_ down that monstrous staircase?! We just got up here."

"You didn't have to come at all," Roxas frowned as he began back down the hall, Pluto having taken the lead. Axel inwardly groaned at the boy's sudden athleticism and ruefully began after him.

Why _had _he come? Axel begun to wonder, there was certainly nothing interesting going on in this house; whosever house it was. Maybe it was his girlfriend's.

"So whose dog is this?" Axel asked, once they were sitting around a lavish island in the kitchen, Pluto chomping away greedily at the food Roxas served him.

"My girlfriend's," Roxas answered, staring at the dog as he ate, "I gave him to her when he was a puppy two years ago. First gift I got her."

"And she lets him starve," Axel added with a nod, earning a hard scowl from Roxas. "So this is her house?"

Roxas didn't respond, but logic would only dictate that if this is where his girlfriend's dog was staying, the girlfriend couldn't have been far off.

And the opulence of this house, it was outrageous. The girlfriend Axel had imagined Roxas had was nothing like he imagined a resident of this abode to be like. The owner seemed a bit impractical in how they spent their money; the dog had his own room for crying out loud!

"So where did you get him?" Axel changed the subject, trying to generate some form of conversation.

"Get who?" Roxas asked, his gaze having settled back onto the masticating dog.

"The dog," Axel said a little shortly.

"Pluto," he corrected, "And my brother found him, actually."

"The gay one?" Axel inquired dubiously.

"The only one I have," Roxas said firmly. "We asked our parents if we could keep it, but there was no room in the house at that time; or so they said. So we were going to have to take him to the pound. I had only just started dating Namine then, but I remembered her mentioning earlier that she really wanted a puppy."

"If she's living like this," Axel made a sweeping motion in reference to the lavish house, "Why didn't she just get one?"

Roxas chuckled a bit.

"It was an impulse," he said, "she'd only just decided as she told me. I knew that she may have wanted to rethink it later, but I didn't want Pluto to be put to sleep. So I gave him to her the next day."

"Not exactly the stuff romance is made of…" Axel observed.

Roxas shrugged.

"I've never called myself a romantic," he attested.

"Pft," Axel snorted, "The only people who don't like a little romance are the ones who suck at it. You probably couldn't set up a romantic day, or moment even, if it came and shook its ass in your face."

Would he take the bait this time?

"Like hell that's true!" Roxas snapped, "There's just no point in doing all of that… extra, unnecessary stuff. Rose petals on the floor, music in the background, dim lighting-"

"Oh that's so cliché," Axel intervened, "That's not romantic anymore, it's just cheesy. A truly romantic moment would be completely personalized to whoever you're trying to romanticize. See? As I predicted, you don't know a thing about being romantic. Be the bigger man and admit it, Roxie."

"And what does a maniac like you know about romance?" Roxas bit, scowling at Axel. The way his nose crinkled when he frowned was absolutely adorable, and the intensity striking blue eyes always held was just inescapably captivating. "I'm sure you scare more people away than you entice towards you."

"Please," Axel said, snapping out of his thoughts, "Don't even compare yourself to me. I'm so good I think I'll fall for myself at times."

"Well that's not surprising," Roxas snorted. "How conceited of you."

"Well you see, there's a thing about arrogance," Axel reasoned, "If you talk big, you just have to make sure you can back it up. I can't count all the people I've swept off their feet."

Roxas folded his arms and sat back in his chair, raising a brow in skepticism.

"Oh?"

"And even if they're stubborn, or reluctant, you can't underestimate the power of body language."

"Body language," Roxas repeated.

"Yeah," Axel said, leaning across the small circular wooden table, only to come to a sudden halt as he felt a sharp pang of pain on his right side. Axel inwardly swore. He would have enjoyed to see Roxas' reaction to a little of Axel's aforementioned "body language".

"Egotistical maniac-"

"Ok, you know, the maniac stuff has got to stop."

"Why?" Roxas asked, "You _are _maniacal, and crazy, and insane, and psychotic. Don't you appreciate the truth? Don't you remember the time you nearly got us run over? Or all your strange questions you like to ask? Or the annoying nick name you just won't let go of?"

"How does that make me crazy?" Axel demanded.

"How does it not?" Roxas asked, standing up. "I'm going to clean up and then we're heading out. You may want to start heading out now, cripple."

Roxas had an affinity for insulting him, Axel noticed.

* * *

Roxas pulled up in his parents' driveway at exactly 6:45 the next day. He knew his mom always served dinner promptly at seven in the evening. She always had for the last eighteen years of Roxas' life anyway.

And Axel had clung to him today too. It had taken Roxas the better half of the day to finally get rid of Axel. He'd only just got his car back about two hours ago. He was worried that Axel's antics would make him late for dinner, but some phone call from some person had Axel suddenly in a hurry to leave. And though Roxas was grateful for the turn of events, he couldn't suppress the curiosity that was getting the better of him.

He still hadn't heard from Pence or Olette, however, and both Roxas and Hayner were beginning to worry.

"Good evening Roxas," answered the doctor as his eyes found Roxas standing on the porch of the small house.

"Hi Dad," Roxas replied, stepping over the threshold when the older man walked back into the house.

The front door led directly into the living room, and on one side was an archway to the kitchen, while on another, there was a hallway further down leading to all the bedrooms of the one-story home.

Roxas and his father seated themselves on opposite sides of the sectional that lay in the middle of the room and made themselves comfortable.

"Next time you see that Axel friend of yours," Aulderman said, "tell him to come in for a follow-up appointment in about a week and a half."

Roxas wanted to scoff at the mention of the redheaded lunatic, and the reference to him as his friend, but refrained.

"Sure Dad."

"It's been strange having the house so quiet all of a sudden," Aulderman said.

"I'd think you and mom would be glad to have me and Sora finally out of your hair," Roxas chuckled as he slouched back against the couch and threw his arms across its back.

"Roxas sit up straight," a woman's voice came.

Instantly Roxas' back was erect and his hands were resting on his lap as his eyes found the short, plump woman with dark hair walking into the room.

"Hello to you too, Mom," Roxas said as he stood to hug the approaching woman.

She smiled and lightly squeezed her son, who was taller than her by just inches** (1)**.

"It's a shame your brother couldn't be here," his mom commented as she let go, "I don't understand why he chose to attend a college so far away."

"We should just be glad he chose to go to college at all," Roxas' dad cut in, which lead to a brief laughter between the two parents.

They always had a knack for that. Belittling Sora, albeit playfully, whether he was or wasn't in the room. Roxas never took part in it. He found it to be one of his parents' worst traits.

"Mom," Roxas began, trying to change the subject, "Do you need me to set up the table?"

"Oh, would you honey?" She asked, beginning off to the kitchen again, "Make an extra place though, Auron is joining us tonight."

"Uncle Auron is coming?" Roxas asked, making his way to the dining room.

"Don't let him hear you saying that. And yes, he said he had some big news," Aulderman explained, "Something to tell in person."

Roxas went to the cabinet in the dining room where all the dishware and cutlery were kept; vaguely wondering what could be so important as to drag his reclusive uncle from the confines of his house.

No sooner than he had finished setting the table did he hear the doorbell ring. Moments went by before hearing Roxas' father cheerfully greeting his brother-in-law.

"Auron," he said as Roxas made his way back into the room, "It's been too long."

"It has Aulderman," Auron replied, firmly shaking Aulderman's hand with his good hand. Roxas still wouldn't be able to tell anyone how his arm became permanently braced. As far as Roxas knew, Auron's arm was perfectly fine and the make-shift cast of sorts was just for show **(2)**.

As Roxas fully entered the room, Auron's eyes found him.

"Roxas," Auron said, with a stiff nod his way.

Roxas smiled in amusement. His uncle was always so reserved and only spoke when spoken to. The greeting he just gave Roxas was probably one he considered friendly.

"Auron," Roxas reciprocated. His uncle always hated the use of the word "uncle" in front of his name. He made a point of alerting Sora and Roxas to this fact early in life.

"Dinner's almost ready!" Roxas heard his mom's voice call, like some sort of omniscient narrator of a television show. Then she stuck her head through the archway, "Hi Auron."

Auron nodded again.

"Evening, Felicity."

Roxas' mom smiled before retreating back into the kitchen.

Roxas watched as his father and his uncle sat down in the living room, and began talking about old man stuff, when he suddenly felt his phone vibrate. It was a text message from Pence.

"_Hey,"_ it read, "_u busy?"_

Roxas knew if he was caught text messaging at a time like this, he would surely be reprimanded. And were it not for the fact that he hadn't heard from pence in two days, he would have replied in the affirmative to his question. As it stood, however…

_"No,"_ Roxas typed on the worn keys of his phone, _"Watsup?"_

Minutes went by before the reply came.

_"We need to talk,"_ the message read, _"We shud do it in person. All of us, at the usual spot tomorro"_

Roxas was a little worried by the tone of the message, as his mother came into the room. Roxas stuffed his phone in his pocket.

"Roxas," His mom called, "Help me take the dishes to the dining room."

Roxas was about to oblige when Auron suddenly rose to his feet.

"Let me," he said and went to oblige his sister's request.

Once they were all seated at the dinner table, and portions were dished out, Roxas waited until the small talk began to reply to Pence's message-- under the table.

_"What happened to u the other night?"_ Roxas asked, _"U and Olette just disappeared. Do u noe if she's ok? Did u 2 leave together?"_

"-Roxas?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Oh honestly," Roxas' mom chided, "Where's your head tonight dear? Auron just asked how school was going for you."

"Oh," Roxas said, "I'm sorry. Just fine. My first day was just last week on the twenty-first, and I've only got Saturday classes. So this semester should be easy enough. I won't totally flunk out in the first quarter."

Everyone laughed their polite laughs.

"Roxas is always too modest," Aulderman said, "He's going to take Olympus University by storm. He's got a full scholarship already. They wouldn't have given him that if he weren't the best."

Roxas tried to laugh off his father's bragging about him. One of the many things that made him self-conscious.

"Don't forget Sora got a full scholarship too," Roxas said, taking the subject off of himself, "To UDISP**(3) **for his journalism."

Auron nodded, as though in approval.

"Who could forget that?" Aulderman laughed, "I didn't have to make a single check out to a single college."

Roxas felt a vibration in his pocket, and tactfully withdrew from the conversation.

_"yes we left together, and yes were both fine. Sorry for not contacting you sooner."_

Roxas glanced up quickly to make sure no one was watching him, and that they were in their own mutterings.

_"U should be sorry! Me and hayner have been worried as hell."_

Roxas hit send before starting a new message as an afterthought.

_"Where did you two go anyway?"_

Minutes and minutes went by without a response from Pence while Roxas ate and smiled, and ate and smiled, talking now and again. Waiting impatiently for his reply. It finally came.

_"We just went to my house when we couldn't find u and hayner had already left"_

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

_"U weren't there yesterday. And why havent either of u been answering ur fones? Ur hiding something."_

"This pot roast is some of your best, Felicity," Roxas' dad commented.

"Please, Aulderman," she said with a blush, "It's just the same as always."

Tasted a little blander than usual, in Roxas' opinion. And though Roxas hadn't corrected his father earlier, pot roast was by no means, his favorite dish.

_"Cmon Roxas," _Pence's reply came, _"Just wait until tomorro. Id rather not tell u this over the fone."_

Roxas found himself getting a little agitated.

_"Tell me NOW,"_ he said, _"U cant disappear for two days and then withhold information about ur whereabouts."_

"So down to business," Auron suddenly said, and Roxas suddenly noticed every plate on the table except his own was empty.

"Should we move to the living room?" Roxas' mom suggested.

"No, that's not necessary," Auron responded, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "We can do this right now. It would have been nice if Sora had been here as well though…"

"Would you like to wait?" Aulderman asked, "He's coming to visit in two weeks."

"I don't think I can wait that long," Auron replied solemnly. "I just found out last month that I have lung cancer."

A deathly silence falls over the table.

"Auron…" Aulderman begins, but he holds up his free hand to stop him.

"It's far gone. The prognosis two months."

"Two months!" Felicity cried.

Even Roxas' attention was now caught. He almost didn't notice the new message in his inbox.

_"Couldn't you just wait a few hours, Roxas?"_

Through the cries of outrage and despair now being shot across the table, Roxas managed to respond.

_"I could do a lot of things, but I'm worried about you two. I think I deserve a little enlightenment."_

"How could you go this long without telling us?" Roxas' mom demanded, "Aulderman is a doctor! He could have helped!"

"This is fifty years of smoking finally catching up," Auron said, as calmly as ever, "There's nothing any doctor can do. At any rate, I'm not here to reap your pity. I want to tell you what I plan to do after my death."

As blunt as ever.

"Auron, is this really the-"

"Listen," he said, obviously a little agitated now, "There's no point in trying to fight it or deny it, so I've resolved to prepare for it."

Everyone was quiet at the table, and even as Roxas felt the vibration in his hand, he didn't look down to read the message.

"So what are your plans then?" Roxas asked, breaking the silence.

Auron looked directly at him.

"A few years ago, I came into a small fortune when a company struck oil on my property out in the Prideland deserts." He began, "And since then I've invested it's grown."

"In a habit of keeping secrets apparently," Felicity said a little bitterly, but Aulderman ignored her.

"And I wanted to leave it all to Roxas and Sora," he went on, "to give them something to fall back on should they ever need it."

Roxas felt conflicted about that. How are you supposed to express joy about getting money when it's through another person's death?

"Of course," Aulderman nodded,

Roxas decided to take a quick open the message and read it now.

"So how much are we talking about exactly?" Felicity inquired.

But Roxas nearly felt his heart stop altogether as he read the message from Pence.

_"Alright, fine. Olette and I… slept together."_

"Roughly 14.3 million dollars."

Roxas' head snapped up and his already widened eyes fell on his uncle, across from him at the table. And Roxas didn't know which situation demanded his attention more. He was at a loss of how to respond to either. So his reaction was entirely autonomous.

"What the hell?!"

**A/N: WAT THE FLYING MONKEY GODS!? Roxas is rich!? Pence and Olette had secks!? Whats the world coming to!?**

**(1) And we know how short ROXAS is. **

**(2) For everyone whose played FF X, (cuz I don't think we've seen this on kh2) we all know, and have SEEN him use that arm. So why the f-ck is it secured like that??**

**(3) University of the Destiny Islands Southern Province. Lol. Just makin up colleges here…**

**Heh, review.**

**oh yea, and be sure to check my profile for the update schedule. :)**


	6. VI

-1**A/N: What lies beyond the Green Glass Doors?**

* * *

"So what does this mean?"

"No, a better question is 'why did they wait so long to tell us?'."

"Hayner, calm down. Let's give them a proper chance to explain the situation."

Roxas and Hayner sat across from Pence and Olette at their usual table in their usual spot. The bomb of a message that Pence had sent Roxas last night was followed by no others, despite the dozen Roxas had sent himself.

Roxas had lost no time in altering his best friend to the news of course. Needless to mention, he was more awestruck than anything, and then angry for the secrecy.

And so here they all were. Sitting around the circular table outdoors with untouched meals before each of them, waiting for someone to break the tense silence.

"Well…" Olette finally spoke, "we weren't really _hiding_ it or anything. Pence and I… we just wanted to know for ourselves exactly what it meant before telling you two."

"And that took you two days?"

"Hayner." Roxas warned, "So what does it mean then?" he repeated his earlier question.

"We're going out now," Pence stated in a tone that was simultaneously nervous and firm.

Roxas opened his mouth to speak but was cut off when Pence threw his hand up.

"We don't need you two to warn us that the results could be bad if it doesn't work out," he said, "We've already thought about all of this. We've factored in that we were both pretty drunk that night and the possibility it was just the booze acting. I don't feel we really have to justify ourselves to you, but as our best friends, you have some right to know. Olette and I are adults, we're not stupid, and we're not naïve."

Roxas sat back in his chair with folded arms, not quite sure how to feel about them. Them. That was such a strange term all of a sudden, now that they were a "them".

"And what if it doesn't work out?" Roxas asked, "You said you've thought about it."

"Then, obviously we're going to stay close," Pence replied, "Twelve years of friendship can't be obliterated by one bad relationship."

"You say that now… "

"_Now_ is all I have to go by."

"Ok."

All eyes at the table snapped to Hayner.

"You're right. You two know exactly what you're doing. Roxas and I couldn't do much to stop you if we wanted to anyway. But we have to promise here and now, that no matter what happens, we're always here for each other. All for one and one for all."

He extended his hand out to the center of the table and the rest of the group did the same.

"The four musketeers'?" Roxas asked bemusedly, subtly teasing Hayner's sudden corniness.

"Dumas**(1) **had it all wrong the first time," Olette joked.

"If we've stuck together this long, since elementary school," Hayner nodded, "Nothing's gonna pull us apart."

Roxas smiled.

"But if you two disappear for another two days, without so much as a warning, we'll have to replace you."

The group retracted their hands and laughed, before beginning to prod at their food.

"Like you ever could," Pence chuckled.

"Oh!" Hayner suddenly said, "We haven't told you two yet because of… everything; Roxas is filthy stinkin' rich now."

"What are you talking about?" Olette asked distractedly, picking up a French fry to eat.

"Well his uncle is gonna kick the bucket soon-"

"Could you please show some respect!" Roxas blurted.

"What? You hardly know him. Anyway, he's leaving Roxas seven million dollars.

Both Pence and Olette began choking on what they were eating.

"WHAT?!"

"You heard right," Hayner nodded.

"Roxas?"

Roxas shook his head and sighed in exasperation.

"I just found out yesterday," he explained, "He's leaving the same for Sora."

"Wow…"

"You can quit school!" Hayner suggested.

"I'd rather not."

"Oh, c'mon. What's the point of becoming a doctor when you're already rolling in dough?"

"When will you get the money?" Pence asked.

Roxas felt awful for having to explain all this.

"He said he's only got two months; lung cancer."

"Well what if he's one of those miracle cases who live for years past their expiration date?" Pence inquired.

Hayner groaned in disappointment at the prospect.

"Then that's great news," Roxas said pointedly-- mostly to Hayner.

"Does Sora know?" Olette asked.

"I'll have to call him tonight."

"What time is it on the Destiny Islands right now anyway?" Hayner asked.

"Six a.m.," Roxas answered, checking his watch, "Sora won't be thrilled at all about the news. The money will mean nothing to him if it's at the cost of a man's life."

"Eh, Sora's too goody-goody," Hayner said, waving off Roxas' words.

"He's innocent," Olette corrected, "And sweet. Just because you're evil…"

"What are you trying to say?" Hayner asked indignantly, and they erupted into one of their infamous arguments.

Still, Roxas couldn't help but find a soothing sense of tranquility among his friends' playful hostility.

* * *

Roxas was walking from his car to his apartment. He'd just come back from feeding Pluto, after having had lunch with his friends, who all had their afternoon college classes to attend at Twilight Town Community College.

Roxas pulled out his phone, wondering if Sora was up yet. It was two p.m. now, so that would make it eight a.m. where Sora was. He began staring at his beat up phone, tattered with the scars from years of use.

Approaching his apartment, he noticed there was a man standing in front of his door. He was blonde, a little taller than Roxas, wearing blue jeans and a loose-fitting white polo shirt. And… was that a mullet?

"Can I help you?" Roxas asked the man, as he walked up to him.

Mullet-head turned around with widened eyes to gaze down at Roxas, before a pleasant smile graced his face.

"Hi," he said, "Do you live here?"

"I do." Roxas affirmed.

"I'm Demyx!" he suddenly shouted excitedly, and the sudden change in demeanor caught Roxas off guard, "I was over at Axel's just a second ago, looking for him, but he wasn't there. So then I thought, 'maybe one of his neighbors would know!' So I went to the guy in nine, but he was mean, and I hoped I'd have better luck with apartment seven, but you weren't home either. But you are now… So… Do you know where Axel is?"

Roxas' eyes widened at the man's, Demyx's, sudden enthusiasm. He didn't know exactly how to react to this man. He seemed normal enough at first, but he was Axel's friend. And there's absolutely no telling what sort of people _Axel _befriended. And at the mere mention of the crazed red-head Roxas could feel his body tense up.

On top of that, Demyx had just told him that Axel wasn't home. That meant that Axel could _come_ home at any minute, and catch Roxas outside. That wasn't a risk Roxas was willing to take.

"I don't," Roxas finally answered, with a measure of happiness to the report. He was glad that he hadn't seen Axel all day. Roxas quickly scanned the area for signs of Axel. "Sorry I couldn't be much help."

No sooner than Roxas had walked past the man to stick his key in the door's lock, did he hear that demonic call.

"Roxie!"

Roxas, determined to pretend not to have heard anything, proceeded to unlock his door and was about to walk through when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"And Demyx, what are you doing with Roxie?"

Roxas violently yanked Axel's hand off of his shoulder, before rounding on him angrily. As Roxas' eyes found him, he noticed that his hair was pulled back, and his glasses were on, and he looked exactly as he had when he was teaching Roxas' Physics class.

"He was looking for you," Roxas bit, referring to Demyx, "And look, he's found you. Can I get into my home now?"

"Wait wait wait," Axel said when Roxas turned around again, "I don't see you all day and this is the greeting I get?"

"Well I could slam the door in your face instead if you'd let me in my apartment," Roxas offered.

"I'm sensing a little bit of aggression here, Roxie," Axel said, "And I think we should talk about it."

"Bye."

"Ok, wait. At least tell me how your day was."

Roxas folded his arms angrily and eyed the pleading red-head.

"My day was fantastic up until two minutes ago."

"Really?" Axel asked, "Because my day was just awful until two minutes ago."

Roxas felt his face get hot, though from anger or from embarrassment, he didn't know. Axel did that to him a lot.

"Are you still bartending with those ribs?" Roxas asked, suddenly remembering Axel's injuries and eager to get away from Axel's obvious attempt to flirt with him.

Axel didn't answer for a second, but suddenly started chuckling.

"How sweet!" he suddenly cried, "You care about me!"

Roxas rolled his eyes.

"I couldn't care less," Roxas spat, "but the sooner you get healed, the sooner your reasons to bother me run out."

"See how evil he is," Axel said to the ignored third party, "Oh! And Demyx. This is my star pupil, Roxas. Star Pupil this is Demyx."

Roxas noted the unusual introduction, especially since he had made it quite clear to Axel that he would be dropping his class. He was no longer considered his student.

"Nice to meet you," Demyx said.

"I have places to go tomorrow," Axel suddenly said, before Roxas had a change to respond to Demyx, "And am in need of a chauffer."

Roxas noted that Axel hadn't answered his question. Axel was good with dancing around topics like that.

"How interesting," Roxas said, turning to cross the threshold of his house, "good luck with that."

Before he gave Axel another opportunity to grab him or say something else, he promptly shut the door in the face of those mischievously green eyes.

Then remembered his manners.

Roxas opened the door, ignoring Axel, whose back was now turned to him, and stared directly at the other blonde.

"Have a nice day, Demyx," Roxas smiled, and shut the door again before locking it.

Beyond the door he could hear Axel's cries of outrage and indignation, and quite enjoyed them as he took out his phone again, resolved to call his brother.

* * *

"So that was Roxas," Demyx said, mostly to himself, as he sat himself down out Axel's bed.

"Curiosity got the better of you, I see," Axel responded, taking off his glasses and setting them on his desk.

"Are you angry?" Demyx asked.

"No."

"I got the feeling you didn't want me to know about him," Demyx went on, casually kicking his shoes off, and looking a little disappointed by Axel's response.

"Why did you come here?" Axel asked, looking over at Demyx as he let his hair down.

"Just to meet him," Demyx answered truthfully, "check out the competition."

Axel snorted.

"He's 18," Axel said, looking at the blonde who was now lying comfortably across his bed, "and my student."

"He's legal," Demyx corrected, "And receiving a good education."

"I can hardly think of him that way-"

"Axel," Demyx cut across his sentence, "Denial is unbecoming. You should hear the way you talk about him. And how you act around him…"

Axel watched him.

"You smiled," Demyx went on.

"He's my eighteen year old student with a girlfriend," Axel persisted.

"Since when has a girlfriend ever stopped you before?" Demyx asked challengingly, folding his arms.

"If I didn't know better I'd say you _want_ him to steal me away from you," Axel said.

"You're not really mine to steal anyway," Demyx responded solemnly.

"Aah, such a serious tone Demyx," Axel said, smiling tightly.

"Just being realistic, Axel," Demyx replied, returning the gesture.

Axel had, very early in their relationship, made it unmistakable that they weren't exclusive. He'd made it quite clear, and Demyx remained.

"I'm only advising you, because the attraction is obvious," Demyx went on, "Not to deny it. Turning a blind eye to something isn't the best way to overcome it. You get bored pretty quickly with people. I'd say the best way for you to get over him is to get him."

Axel was silently bitter at how predictable he had become to this man.

"Ruin his life because I wanted to see him in his birthday suit?" Axel snorted, beginning to take off his own shoes.

"It hasn't stopped you before," Demyx pointed out. "You really are a horrible person."

He said it jokingly, but he wasn't joking.

Axel laughed anyway as he made his way over to the man laying on his bed, placing his hands on the bed on either side of his hips.

"So the personality's no good," Axel noted, before leaning down at nipping at Demyx's ear, "but how's the sex?"

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hi."

"Oh, Roxas," the voice on the other end said, suddenly light-hearted, "good to hear from you."

"How are you, Riku?"

"Fine," he replied, "Did you want to talk to Sora?"

"Is he available?"

"Hold on a second."

"Wait! Riku?"

"Yeah?"

"…I'm going to need you to stay in the room with him."

Roxas sat back on his couch as he waited for Sora to get on the phone. He had no idea how he was supposed to tell Sora this news. He was such a sensitive person. A little too sensitive at times.

But he was also tough when he had to be, Roxas supposed.

"Who is it? What? Why can't you ever just tell me for a change?! Honestly, no just give me that. They can hear everything; Hello?"

"Hey."

"Roxas!"

"Hi Sora. You got a sec?"

"Yeah, sure, what's up?"

Ten million ways to start Roxas' next sentence came to mind, and he didn't know how to choose a single one of them.

"Well I've got some good news, and some bad news. Which do you want first?"

_Brilliant._

"Practicing your doctor talk on me already?" Sora laughed, "Riku stop staring at me like that. Alright, gimme the bad news first, doc."

Sora's playful mood made the news even harder to break.

"Um… Let's be serious here for a second."

Sora paused for a second.

"Ok…"

"It's about Auron," Roxas began.

"Oh, it's been a while since we talked to him."

"Actually I just saw him last night," Roxas said, "When I went to dinner at mom and dad's. He came by."

"How is he?"

"Terminally ill."

Sora laughed.

"We're on his life insurance right?"**(3)**

"You could say that…"

Sora's laughter slowly fizzled out at the consistent tone of seriousness Roxas was practicing.

"Roxas?"

"He's got lung cancer. And says the doctors have given him two months."

Silence.

"And he's leaving each of us seven million two hundred thousand dollars. After taxes."

More silence.

"And he says congratulations on your scholarships."

Silence again.

"And I think I'm going to go take a nap now. Didn't get much sleep last night."

No response.

"Call me soon, ok?"

Roxas hung up, hoping in a cowardly way that Riku would be able to put Sora in a good enough mood before Roxas had to talk to him again, and set his phone down on the coffee table.

But what he had said to Sora was true. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night, between a dying rich uncle and two best friends having just slept with one another.

And his couch was looking irresistibly inviting.

Hayner didn't get back until around six on Wednesdays, and when he did the whole neighborhood knew. Roxas figured a four hour nap would do his unsettled mind a lot of good. Especially after that encounter he just had with Axel.

Roxas kicked off his shoes into a corner of his living room, took his keys out his pocket and threw them sloppily onto the coffee table, and laid out across his couch, attempting to ease himself into comfort. Attempting to dispel the troubling thoughts of reality. Attempting to find his way to a temporary peace.

The last sight Roxas had before drifting off to sleep was of the afternoon sunlight beaming through his living room window.

* * *

Roxas' eyes fluttered open into total darkness. His neck was a bit sore from being in the same position for hours, and he was a little cold.

He waited for his eyes to adjust to the lack of luminosity in the room before looking out the window. The moon was beaming down through the glass pane as Roxas sat up and wiped his eyes clean** (3)**.

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows at the fact that he had slept well into the night, and that Hayner's coming home hadn't wakened him as he'd suspected.

Suddenly he heard a loud noise coming from the kitchen.

Roxas sighed at his roommate's noisiness, and chalked his ability to sleep through it up to a lack of sleep.

Leaning forward to grab his phone, he saw that he had two missed calls (one from Namine, the other from Hayner), and that it was now a little after midnight. It would just be completely unreasonable to call back Namine tonight, and whatever Hayner wanted he could just ask him right now.

Roxas stood up and stretched before making his way into the kitchen. The tiles were ice cold and the only light found in there was the one coming from the open fridge.

"You could at least _try_ and be quiet when someone's sleeping in the other room," Roxas yawned at his roommate.

"Sorry 'bout that."

The voice nearly made Roxas pass out on the spot.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY KITCHEN!?"

Axel's head popped up from behind the refrigerator door and looked sheepishly at Roxas.

"I was lonely."

"GET OUT!"

"But Roxie…"

"If you're lonely, get a dog," Roxas bit, "How did you get in here anyway?!"

"I found the spare key hanging on top of the wind chime," Axel said, holding up the small silver object, "Make your next hiding place a little bit harder."

"Give me one reason not to call the cops on your ass," Roxas said angrily.

"Such language," Axel shook his head in would-be disappointment.

"Why do you keep bothering me?"

"I wouldn't call it _bothering_, per se…" Axel said closing the fridge as the whole kitchen was submerged into darkness, with only moonlight from the glass doors illuminating it.

"You're right," Roxas said, "Why do you keep harassing me?!"

"Because you make it so fun."

"I could have you arrested for breaking and entering," Roxas said, "And you tell me how fun that is."

"I didn't break a thing," Axel shrugged. "You're the one who left a key right outside your apartment door."

"Would you please just get out?"

"But you broke my ribs," Axel said.

"What has that got to do with anything?!"

"I can't possibly make it through a night alone anymore," Axel said in a desperate tone.

"What have you been doing these past three nights?" Roxas demanded.

"I… I'd fallen, and I couldn't get up…"

"Look…"

"You said you had an obligation to me," Axel reminded him, "As long as these ribs are broken…"

"I know what I said," Roxas finished.

"To save you," Axel went on, "to save that precious face of yours, I now have to suffer with incomprehensible pain just to breathe at times."

"Didn't they give you a prescription for pain meds?" Roxas asked, cutting his dramatic monologue short.

"I haven't been able to fill it yet," Axel said, "What with the pain and all-"

"FINE!" Roxas snapped, "You're in pain. It's my fault. I get it. That doesn't give you the right to come sneaking around in my house at twelve o'clock in the morning. It's not a pleasant thing to wake up to a stranger in your kitchen-"

"We're not strangers, Roxie," Axel said.

"I've only known you for four days."

"But I feel like I've known you forever."

"Are you going to leave now?"

"I hadn't planned on it."

Roxas sighed.

"How long have you been here?"

"Two hours."

Roxas didn't have the energy to properly react to that.

"Where's Hayner."

"Isn't home."

"What have you been doing these two hours? And why did you come over?"

"Well I already told you why I came over," Axel said, walking closer to Roxas, "I was lonely."

"Demyx was with you," Roxas said.

"He had to leave," Axel responded.

"You haven't answered the first part of my question."

"Well mostly I've just been waiting for you to wake up," Axel said, stopping only two feet away from Roxas, "I just didn't have the heart to wake up an angel like you."

"Well this angel certainly has the heart to kick you out," Roxas glared, though was unsure if Axel could see it.

"What kind of host are you?"

"You're not a guest, you're an intruder."

"You're always so mean Roxie," Axel said, "I think we should talk about all this pent up anger, and maybe discuss some misplaced aggression issues you might have."

"I thought your degree was in Physics," Roxas rolled his eyes, turning around to back into the living room, "not psychology."

"Physics, Psychology," Axel said after Roxas, "What's the difference?"

Roxas was about ready to give up.

"What's it going to take to get you to leave?

"A kiss," Axel answered, "On the lips."

"A fist?" Roxas questioned, "To the face?"

Roxas heart skipped a beat when he saw Axel leaning in, and he felt another automatic response like the one he had last night coming on.

Roxas slammed his fist into Axel's chest, directly above where he knew the ribs to be broken. Instantly the taller man collapsed to his knees with a cry of anguish.

"Sorry, I'm taken," Roxas said, stepping over the kneeling man.

"That…" Axel struggled to say, "Was uncalled for."

"You tried to kiss me," Roxas said, opening the fridge, looking for something, anything, that might entertain him temporarily. It was pretty empty, Roxas noted, and made it a point to go the grocery store sometime soon. There was nothing in the fridge except some sandwich meat, chocolate syrup, and jelly. Not even the essentials like milk, or eggs.

"You should take that as a compliment," Axel groaned, finally standing up again, "Not a reason to exploit an injury."

"Why can't I take it as both?" Roxas asked, shutting the fridge door closed, "Why have you been in the dark this whole time? We have light switches you know."

"I didn't want the light to wake you up," Axel said, carefully poking at his wounded side, "If this is the reward for my kindness, next time I just won't try."

"_Next time_?" Roxas scoffed.

"I might as well just move in with you until these ribs are healed," Axel confirmed, "because I'm going to need a lot of tending to."  
"They have people you can hire for that sort of thing," Roxas said, moving to his pantry to search for a snack. It was hard to see anything in the dark enclosure, but Roxas was almost positive there was nothing much to see. Maybe the ends of the bread were still in there. And some peanut butter and he could make himself a sandwich.

"But," Axel breathed, right onto the lobe of Roxas' right ear, causing the younger man to freeze entirely, "I'd much rather _you_ be the one taking care of me."

* * *

**Yea, I think I'll end it there.**

**(1) Alexander Dumas, the author of the Three Musketeers (sorry for offending u if you already knew this)**

**(2) This is something me and my sister asked my aunt when she got on a plane to Hawaii some years ago. We're bad nieces.**

**(3) Everyones got eye boogies when they wake up! Haha. Even Roxie.**

**OK KIDDIES! Time for another anatomy lesson with Em. So whenever i read about someone giving head to someone else, 9 times outta 10, the person giving head will swallow. Where thats concerned, i often find mixed reviews as to the actually taste of "semen". so i did wat any curious girl in this day and age would do. i googled it. haha. after visiting several sights, i found that cum can taste like whatever the guy just ate. :3 If you smoke or drink coffee, your cum will taste the worst, eat fruits and yummy stuff and itll taste like fruits and yummy stuff.  
**


	7. VII

**A/N: Hahaha, this one, I've been eager to write this one for a while… fufufu…**

**And i'm so awesome, that i upload new story chapters at 1:30 in the morning on a school night! oh yeah! so take THAT.**

* * *

When his senses returned to him, Roxas brought his right elbow thrusting backwards, and straight into Axel's injured side again.

"Try that again and see if those lips are still there next time you wake up," Roxas growled, closing the pantry and looking down at the now kneeling redhead.

"Got it," Axel breathed shortly.

"Great," Roxas held out his hand in front of Axel to help him up. Axel blinked at the hand bewilderedly. "Or you could stay down there."

As Roxas moved to retract his hand, Axel suddenly seized the hand and helped himself up.

Roxas smiled up at him as Axel stood up straight.

"Now get out of my house."

"Aww c'mon-"

"You break in. Rummage through my fridge. Watch me sleep like some stalker, and expect me to let you _stay_?"

"…yes…"

"Goodbye, stalker."

"Fine," Axel huffed, and limped haughtily past Roxas. Looking at the man's altered gait sent another pang of guilt through Roxas. Almost enough to let him stay.

Almost.

"Try to take better care of those ribs," Roxas said once Axel had crossed the threshold out of the apartment. "The next trip to the ER probably won't be free. Which reminds me, you have a follow up appointment next Thursday."

And he closed the door, not waiting for a response.

* * *

It was Wednesday, September 25th, 1:26 p.m. in the afternoon. After he'd kicked Axel out, Roxas made his way upstairs and fell asleep on his bed. He'd just woken up two hours ago, took a shower, got dressed, and eaten, and now made his way to his charging cell phone in his living room to return some missed phone calls.

"Hayner."

"Roxas," Hayner's voice came from the other end, "hey, you get my voicemail?"

"You know I never check those."

"Yeah," he laughed, "Well I just wanted to call to let you know that I wasn't gonna be in that night. And before you jump to conclusions, no I didn't have another one night stand. My sister came to town for a visit."

"Oh, how is Tifa?"

"Fine," Hayner responded blandly.

"Well if that's all, sorry I missed your call." Roxas replied, "I got home and just fell asleep. And you need to do something about that bartender of yours. I woke up in the middle of the night and he was perusing through our kitchen!"

"Well it's not like he was gonna find anything…"

"That is not the point."

"Ah Roxas, Axel is just eccentric like that," Hayner reasoned, "He's a harmless ol' crazy."

"He's a crazy alright," Roxas said, "But I have to make another phone call. You comin' home tonight?"

"Who knows," Hayner sighed.

"Right. Well take it easy then."

"You too."

Roxas hung up before dialing Namine's number.

No answer.

Roxas was never one to leave voicemails, so he hung the phone up as soon as her outgoing message began.

_Tap tap tap tap._

Roxas' ears perked at the noise.

_Tap tap tap tap._

Roxas turned his head towards the source of the noise slowly. It someone was rapping on the window.

Rather than going to the window to pull back the blinds and see, Roxas went to open the front door and laid eyes upon the psycho outside of his house.

"Ahem?"

Axel's eyes snapped onto Roxas and a grin splayed across his features as he opened his mouth to speak. Before a sound could escape, Roxas closed the door.

"Rooxiieee!"

Roxas groaned in frustration as he tried to ignore Axel.

"ROOOXIIIIEE!"

Roxas rushed to the door before Axel started garnering the neighbors' attention and yanked it wide open.

"WHAT?!"

"Hi."

"…"

Axel walked (limped) over to Roxas.

"Can I come in?"

Roxas folded his arms indignantly.

"Oh so you're asking now?"

"Well since you threw a hissy fit last night…"

"What do you want?"

"I wanna go to the mall," Axel answered, "And am in need of a chauffer."

"You drove yourself just fine the other day," Roxas pointed out.

Axel's gaze shifted uneasily.

"You broke my ribs."

Roxas sighed angrily.

"Technically, I didn't lay a finger on you," Roxas countered.

"But if you hadn't been so hopelessly drunk," Axel began, "and impossibly frail, I wouldn't have had the need to protect you."

"You can drive yourself."

"But I want _you _to drive me."

"No."

"Please?"

"I said no."

"Pretty please?"

"_No…_"

* * *

It was Wednesday. September 25th. 2:47 in the afternoon. And Roxas found himself wondering how the _hell_ he let some lunatic crackpot stalker convince him into being his chauffer for the day.

Roxas wondered this as he walked through the busy, full mall parking lot following a spiky mass of red hair into the huge shopping complex. Then Roxas noticed the slight limp in said spikes' walk and suddenly remembered.

"So what exactly do you need from the mall that you couldn't get from the corner shop down the street?" Roxas asked bitterly.

Axel looked back at Roxas before coming to a complete halt.

"It's a secret," Axel said, looking down at the younger boy with some expression Roxas couldn't read.

Axel smiled down at Roxas, who was now at Axel's side (among the hundreds of bustling shoppers). The smile was unmistakably charming-- maybe that's what irritated Roxas so much about it.

"Save it," Roxas breathed, looking around the huge infrastructure, "Let's just hurry and get this over with. Where to first?"

"Bookstore," Axel answered, beginning to walk forward again, "all the way on the top floor."

Roxas scowled before following.

"What's wrong with the bookstore on _this_ floor?"

Axel shrugged.

"Nothing," he responded. "It's a perfectly lovely shop. You should visit it one day if you've got the time."

"We've got the time _now_."

"Ooh let's take the elevator!" Axel suggested eagerly, "It's one of those glass ones. And you can see everyone and they can see you-"

"Ok! Fine fine. Geez. You're like a little kid."

Axel was being more annoying than usual. But Roxas figured the more he tried to fight it, the longer he would be stuck with the maniac.

They walked through the crowds to the elevator and rode it four floors up with a small body of other people. Roxas eyed Axel as the latter had his face pressed against the glass interior of the lift, peering at the individuals below. Roxas had to suppress a laugh.

"Vexen will be so excited to meet someone like you," Axel said once they exited the elevator.

Roxas looked around this section of the mall-- he had never been up here before. Never had a reason to be. It looked basically the same as the other floors. Small white tiles gracing the floors, huge plotted plants speckled throughout the ovular shaped floor, and dozens of dozens of people walking idly about.

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked.

"He loves to sink his teeth into the unread," Axel responded, beginning to lead the way to this bookshop.

"I'm very well read, thank you very much!" Roxas replied indignantly.

Axel laughed.

"We'll see," he said, and left it at that.

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows at Axel's back and decided to try and distract himself from his idiocy by observing the stores along the walkway.

The first one he laid eyes on was a women's clothing store. There were manikins on display in the front window with waists as tiny as Axel's. Roxas noted the ugly "high fashion" stylings that terrorized said manikins bodices'.

"Don't you have any _girl_ friends?" Roxas asked in the midst of his observations. "I'm sensing lopsidedness in your friends' genders."

"I have '_girl'_ friends," Axel said, "Just not many. A lot of these 'friends' once they find out I bat for the other team, stop hanging around me as much."

Roxas frowned at the women.

"Charming," he said as his eyes flew to the store on the other side of him. That was just a coffee shop.

He and Axel were now almost to the very end of the mall, and the store resting in that corner was strange. And by strange, Roxas meant erotic. The logo beside the letters of the name was a pair of women's legs wearing fishnet pantyhose and red pumps.

Roxas shook his head at the shamelessness of the establishment (though couldn't help but be mildly curious as to what was in there). The thought was vague and fleeting-- and completely interrupted when he realized Axel was heading straight for that shop.

"W-what are you- where are you going?!" Roxas stuttered, freezing some six feet from the entrance and looking around into the well-lit shop.

Axel's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What are you talking about Roxie?" Axel asked, halfway through the open doorway, "I told you we were visiting my friend's bookstore."

Roxas stared wide-eyed up at Axel.

"_Bookstore?" _Roxas repeated, "What _kind_ of bookstore?"

A mischievous smirk spread across Axel's face.

"C'mon Roxie," Axel said, gesturing him over, "you shouldn't linger like that."

"I am _not_ going in there."

"Why not?"

Roxas sputtered.

"Look at it!" he exclaimed, "It's a sex store!"

"If you come in," Axel began, "I'll buy you a pretzel…"

"I don't like pretzels."

"What?! How can you- it's just bread!"

"Nasty bread."

"It's the same bread-- no. Stop changing the subject.

"I'm not going in there."

"No shame in it…"

"There's nothing _but_ shame in it."

"You're making a scene."

Roxas looked around and noticed onlookers, causing him to flush a shade of red.

"The longer you stand out here arguing," Axel went on, "the more people see you standing outside this store."

Still torn, Roxas tried to reason out his options. There was absolutely nothing stopping him from going back down the elevator, to the parking lot, into his car, and back home. That was until he felt a hand grasp his own and he was being dragged forward. It was only when he was already in the store that he thought to snatch his hand away from Axel's.

"I can walk on my own thank you," Roxas said, gazing around the erotically themed store. Roxas found it to be one of those things he knew he shouldn't look at, but couldn't pull his sight way from.

It was a bookstore alright. There columns upon columns of highly organized books- books graced the walls, and books settled themselves onto strategically placed display racks. It was the contents of the book and the "suggestive" décor of the shop that had gotten to Roxas.

There was nothing but porn books here. There were a decent amount of customers in the shop too-- of all sorts of demographics. Rockers, Emos, Goths-- was that a Prep??

Axel proceeded through the aisles unabashedly, not even bothering to look around. Roxas followed closely behind, not wanting anyone to think he was actually browsing for anything.

'Cause he wasn't.

No.

Not Roxas.

When Axel got to the counter, there was a brown haired clerk with her face in a book. She looked up with radiant blue eyes when she heard Axel and Roxas approaching, and when her face came into view, the latter nearly died of shock.

"Kairi?!"

She let out a tiny gasp.

"Roxas!" she said, "Hey! What are you doing here?" Her eyes darted to Axel momentarily, "with Axel?"

"I should be asking you that."

She giggled and closed her book.

"Obviously I work here, Roxas," she said, "I have since I turned 18."

Kairi turned 18 nearly a year ago.

Roxas couldn't get over his shock enough to formulate any words. His brother's best friend-- the sweet innocent little girl he'd known since their sandbox days-- was working in a sex shop?

"Well since you two already seem to know each other," Axel said, "Kairi, where's Vexen?"

"Vexen got hungry and went to the food court," she said, "he'll be back in a few. And _you _didn't answer my question."

The last part was directed towards Roxas, but Axel answered anyway.

"Roxie is my chauffer," he said, "and personal slave for the day."

"You know he's already somebody's slave?" Kairi asked, warningly it seemed.

"She's out of town, from what I understand," Axel replied, "And what's a slave without a driver?"

She frowned at him and Roxas scowled at the both of them. Talking as though he weren't there.

"Roxie broke my ribs," he partially lifted up his shirt to show her the bandages, "four days ago in a bar fight. So now he's my personal attendant."

"You broke Axel's ribs?!" she gasped.

Roxas, though he hadn't dealt the blow, had been primarily responsible for Axel's current condition.

"I supposed I did," Roxas sighed as Axel beamed down on him.

"I never knew you were such a tough guy," she joked, "Maybe Namine should look after you better, before someone else snatches you up."

She winked playfully at Roxas, who felt his face go red.

Axel cleared his throat.

"What are you reading?" he asked her.

She glanced down at the book.

"Wuthering Heights."

"Oh."

"What were you expecting? She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Something spicier," Axel answered, looking thoroughly disappointed with Kairi's reading selection.

"So Roxas," Kairi began, "it's been a while since we really talked. And I haven't had a decent conversation with Sora or Riku in a while either."

"Well," Roxas said, "Other than having a redheaded maniac recently stalk me" (Axel waved at him) "I'm perfectly fine. Sora and Riku are just getting settled on the Destiny Islands-- Namine and her parents are there too, on vacation right now."

"Oh?" Kairi said, "A little R&R from the old lady?"

"Well it was supposed to be," Roxas said, sending a glare at Axel. "Anyhow, since Sora hasn't got much time right now, he's signing up for the late start classes at UDISP. And…"

Roxas wanted to tell Kairi about the Auron and the money, but didn't really want Axel listening in.

"Auron has lung cancer."

Kairi's face was blank for a minute before she let out a gasp of revelation.

"Oh! Your mom's brother?" she asked, "He's got- is he ok?"

Roxas looked down.

"He acts the same as ever," he responded, "but he's only got two months…"

"Oh my…" her sentiment trailed off.

Roxas shrugged.

"We only see the guy a handful of times a year. We hardly know him. Why get emotional over his death."

Roxas felt like a horrible person for saying that, but it was the truth. Roxas felt worse for not feeling sad about his death than he did about the death itself. He wanted to change the subject.

"What about you?"

Thankfully she took the hint.

"Oh, I'm just taking classes at TTCC," she said, "met a guy the other day, my dad kicked my brother out, and I bought some new shoes yesterday."

"Lovely," Roxas nodded.

"I thought so," Kairi affirmed, "So how exactly do you know this guy?"

"He's my student," Axel answered for Roxas again.

Kairi frowned in confusion.

"Roxas, I thought you went to Olympus."

"I do…" Roxas confirmed.

"I teach my own set of classes at the community college," Axel explained to Roxas before turning to Kairi, "And I TA over at Olympus. Roxas is my best student."

"Yeah," Kairi said, "Roxas has always been a nerd."

"And I'm not the one in community college," Roxas shot back **(1)**.

She held up her hands in surrender.

"Point taken," she laughed.

"Axel?"

The voice came from somewhere behind. Roxas and Axel turned around to see a tall man with long blonde hair standing there with. He was wearing a fitting white tee and jeans that didn't leave much to the imagination.

"Vexen."

Roxas could instantly recognize the guy was gay. The way he stood, the very look in his eyes. It was all a dead giveaway.

"It's been a while Axel," the man smiled, approaching the counter.

"Just a week," Axel replied, "How was lunch?"

Vexen waved the question off as though he couldn't be bothered by such a question.

"Who's this cutie pie?" Vexen asked, clearly checking Roxas out.

"He's straight, Vexen," Kairi informed, and a disappointed look befell his features.

"Why is he with Axel then?" He shot Axel a mean look.

Roxas paled at the thought.

"We are _**NOT**_ together," Roxas said urgently, but suddenly felt Axel's arm drape over his shoulder as the older man leaned in towards his ear.

"_Yet_," Axel breathed, earning a sharp jab to his chin from Roxas' palm.

"We just went over this yesterday," Roxas bit through gritted teeth as Axel recoiled on the floor.

"So…evil…" Axel sobbed, clutching his jaw.

Roxas sighed at Axel's idiocy.

"Just get up, get whatever you were looking for in here, so we can go."

Axel got back on his feet as quickly as his ribs allowed him and beamed down at Roxas.

"Ok," Axel said, all signs of sobbing gone, "let's go."

"What!" Roxas exclaimed, "I'm not going through _those_ books."

"Oh, it's just porn in written word," Axel argued. "You can't tell me you don't watch porn."

"I can!"

"Then tell me."

"I don't watch porn!"

Axel looked closely at Roxas' face, looking for a hint of deception, before backing up.

"Well why not start now?"

"I-"

"It's not a big deal unless you make it one, Roxie."

"But I-"

"And you're making a big deal outta nothing," he said, "People are beginning to stare. I'm starting to think you _like _causing scenes."

"You're so annoying."

"I'm in the mood for a mystery… what do you think Roxie?"

Axel dragged Roxas into the mystery section of the store and began browsing. Roxas was a bit in awe of the quantity of "adult novels" on the shelves. Were there really so many? And what was with those titles.

_The Season of Passion, Romance Between the Tides, Cloudy Lovin'._

"Try to avoid the ones," Axel's voice came, "with references to sex, passion, or romance in the title. Those are usually the cheap, poorly plotted ones."

"I'm not getting anything!" Roxas retorted, averting his gaze from the books.

Axel chuckled, grabbed a book off the shelf, and sat down on the carpeted floor in the aisle. Roxas sat down across from him, leaning gently against the bookshelf behind him.

"The Dark of Night," Axel read the book's title, and then peeled it open to what looked like the first page. "It was hot. _He_ was hot. She could feel the heat radiating off of his skin as he thrust into her. Was she the one who just let that breathy moan escape? He was a lot bigger than she thought he would be, and as he continued to pump in and out of her, she felt like he would rip her apart-"

"What are you doing!?"

Axel looked up curiously.

"Reading."

"Do you have to do that out loud?"

"Nope."

"Then why are you!?"

"You should really stop yelling all the time," Axel said, eyes going back to his book, "I mean, I'm not the doctor here, but I don't think it's good for your throat."**(2)**

Roxas noticed Axel's eyes suddenly stop, and he could tell he was thinking about something rather than reading.

"Look," Roxas said, "If you're gonna buy that book, buy it already so we can leave."

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave?" Axel asked, reading again, "we just got here."

"You have to be some kinda pervert to get caught here," Roxas said, "I don't want to be mistaken."

Axel shook his head.

"Alright," he sighed, "We can go… if you choose one of these to buy."

Some women walked by, stepping over Axel to do so.

"Ok," Roxas said, and reached behind him to grab a random book. He looked down at the small paper back novel and saw a picture of two men on the front staring lovingly at one another.

Axel looked over.

"Dynasties…" Axel laughed, "Nice choice."

Axel eyed the book distastefully.

"Maybe Sora will get a kick out of it." Roxas said, thinking evilly of the look on Sora's face at receiving a book like this in the mail.

"Oh right," Axel said, "Who's Sora and Riku?"

Roxas realized then that, though he had mentioned Sora a couple times before, he never actually threw his name out there.

"Kairi's best friends," Roxas said, "My brother and his boyfriend. We've all known each other since kindergarten really. Well obviously Sora and I have known each other longer than that."

Roxas stood up and extended a hand to help Axel up. After heaving Axel upwards, the started heading for the cash register. The taller man's nose was still in his book.

"So who's the older brother?" Axel asked, halfway there.

"We're twins."

They arrived at the register and Axel dumped the two books on the counter.

"That was quick," Kairi commented as she started to ring them up.

"So does that mean there's someone out there who looks like you… but is _gay_?"

Roxas stared at Axel stupidly.

"We're fraternal twins," Roxas informed.

"Oh if you just die your hair brown and spike it a little more," Kairi interceded, "You'd look just like Sora."

"I don't think so," Roxas protested.

"Of course you don't," Kairi said.

"Just ring the damn books up."

Axel looked around.

"Where's Vexen?"

"Somewhere in the store," Kairi responded, "That's 15.43."

"Could you hand me my wallet Roxie?" Axel asked, "If I reached for it myself it would hurt too much."

"I guess no isn't really an option," Roxas rolled his eyes, "Where is it?"

"My back pocket."

"I'm not reaching there!" Roxas yelled, "you can do it yourself."

"No," Axel corrected, "I can't. You'd be surprised how many simple movements become painful because of a broken ribs. Two. Because of two broken ribs."

"Well how did you get in there?" Roxas challenged.

"Demyx did it for me."

Roxas scanned Axel's face for a revelation of his lying, but finally resigned.

"You're so annoying."

Roxas closed the three feet gap between him and Axel and reached for Axel's wallet. Luckily, Roxas thought, Axel wasn't wearing any particularly tight jeans.

Roxas pulled out a small leather wallet and handed it to Axel.

"Much obliged," Axel smirked down at Roxas as he cracked open his wallet and handed a 20 to Kairi. "Keep the change as a tip."

He winked at Kairi who only scoffed.

"Oh how kind you are sir," she said sarcastically, but kept the change nonetheless.

"C'mon Roxie," Axel said, grabbing the books from the counter, "Time to go to the next shop."

Roxas was starting to feel like he was with Namine again, going from store to store with nothing to do.

"Why don't you just go on a head for a second," Roxas suggested, "I want to talk to Kairi for a sec."

Axel narrowed his eyes suspiciously before slowly backing away. When Roxas was certain he was out of earshot, he turned to Kairi.

"Riku might already have this under control," Roxas began, "but I need you to talk to Sora."

"I don't-"

"I told him yesterday about Auron's condition- and his prognosis too." Roxas paused, "He didn't seem to have taken it too well. You know how sensitive he is."

"I'm on it," Kairi smile reassuringly, "I'll talk to him right away."

Roxas smiled, feeling a little better about the whole ordeal.

"Thanks, Kairi," Roxas breathed.

"Anything for Sora," she smiled back, "but Roxas…" Her tone was suddenly somber, "I want you to be careful around Axel."

Roxas narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't trust him," she said, "he's not honest. He's charming and all but…"

This didn't come as a particular shock to Roxas, he had already determined that of Axel three days ago.

"I know," Roxas said, showing his understanding. "Thanks for the warning."

Roxas waved bye to Kairi and went to the outside of the shop where Axel was standing, books in hand.

"I'm hungry," Axel said once Roxas was at his side.

"There's a coffee shop over there," Roxas pointed to a shop a few stores down.

Axel looked at it.

"Let's go to Hotdog on a Stick," Axel said.

"That's all the way on the first floor…" Roxas pointed out agitatedly.

"I know…" Axel said, then looked down at the watch on his left wrist, "C'mon then."

And so Axel dragged them all the way back to the other side of the mall onto the glass elevator again. Roxas pushed the down button and immediately the door opened revealing an empty compartment.

"Someone must have just got off," Roxas thought aloud, stepping into the elevator.

Axel just shrugged and followed suit.

"Hit the button already," Roxas snapped at Axel, who was just standing there.

"No need to get snippy," Axel frowned and pressed the button with the "1" one it. The doors to the elevator slowly shut.

When the lift began to move, Roxas held on to the bars provided. As many times as he'd been on an elevator, he never got used to that feeling.

The bright numbers above the elevator door read "3" when all of a sudden everything came to a jarring halt. Axel and Roxas both fell to the ground and the elevator lights shut off.

"What the hell is going on?" Roxas asked, mind having snapped from painfully dulled to eerily alert in half a millisecond.

On all fours, Roxas looked out the glass walls of the compartment to see that every store's lights were off, the giant fountain wasn't working, the merry go round was shut down, and the masses were looking just as startled and confused as Roxas was.

"Black out," Axel said calmly.

It wasn't dark. It was, after all, still afternoon, and the giant window in the top of the mall still had plenty of sunlight beaming down through it.

But that did little, very little, to comfort Roxas, as he realized that he was stuck. In an elevator. For an indefinite amount of time. With Axel.

Alone.

* * *

**A/N: Ahem… pulls on glasses. Ok, readers. I have a gift for you. Somewhat. Lulz. I was looking over the outline for this story, and noticed I have big gaping holes of needed filler space in it. Haha. So I turn to you. The earliest of these is in chapter eight. The next chapter. So for little bit of fan service, what would you like to see happen? Throw me an idea in a review and I swear to Ala I'll work it in to the best of my abilities. **

**(1) No offense to commun. College students. Rly. it's a smart thing to do.**

**(2) Lulz. I can think of something else that's not good for Roxie's throat. ;)**

**ON a side note, i know that not all of you visit my profile, so i'll tell you here. I've got finals THIS WEEK. i'm done with high school FOREVER... THIS WEEK. so this means delayed update, NEXT WEEK. :( wish me luck guys. **

**FOR SPAARRTAAAA!!**


	8. VIII

-1**A/N: WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!**

**you guyS arE now reading the story of a high sChool GRADUATE!! (hopefully) lulz. Finished my finals, finished my last day of high sChool. I am DONE!! And in celebration, here'S a chapter for you. **

**Now, a lot of you wanted to see perverted stuff, wHile evERyonE who didn't want perversion wanted Namine on the scene. Sry, I cant bring Namine in just yet. You guys are rly tryna have me jump the gun arent you? Haha. Read and Enjoy. :3**

* * *

"Where's your cell phone?" Roxas asked frantically, searching his pockets for his own.

"Right here," Axel, who was now sitting upright, responded as he held up the small electronic.

Roxas' movements stopped as his stare locked onto the gadget, before reaching over to snatch it away.

"What good is a cell phone gonna do?" Axel asked, watching Roxas tap away on the keypad, "Even if someone knows we're in here, what can they do? The power's off… We're not in any immediate danger."

Halfway through dialing 911, Roxas stopped, listening to Axel's words. He was right. What's the best that was going to happen? Neither he nor Axel were having any kind of medical emergency, the cords to the elevator weren't about to snap, everything was essentially fine.

Roxas cancelled the call and tossed the phone back over to Axel.

"So we just have to wait it out-- until the power gets running again?"

"Yep," Axel smiled. Roxas didn't like the looks of it.

"Great…" Roxas sighed, before plopping down against the glass interior. He looked down at the masses, watching as some began to shuffle out of the mall, while others seemed to be aimlessly wandering.

"Roxas?"

"What?"

"Why're you sitting so far away?"

Roxas gazed over at the man sitting in the corner directly across from him in the tiny area, before turning his sight back through the glass wall on the other side.

"I'm just sitting," Roxas replied.

"Well we might be in here for a while," Axel said, "So why don't we do something to pass the time?"

Roxas wasn't really in the mood.

"Like what?"

"Well…" Axel said, apparently trying to come up with something, "We could play a road trip game, you know, the games you play when you're bored on a long car trip-"

"Yeah, I know what a road trip game is," Roxas frowned.

"Well no need to get catty," Axel said defensively, "It's not like _I'm_ the one who willed the entire mall to have a black out."

Though he would have, if he could have, Roxas imagined. The blonde sighed again though, and looked apologetically at Axel.

"You're right," he began, "I'm sorry, I just… Sorry."

Axel was silent for a second.

"Don't sweat it," he said, "So you don't wanna play a game? That's fine. We'll just find something to talk about to pass the time. Do twenty questions-- Learn a little more about each other."

"What would be the point in that?" Roxas asked.

"I just said to pass the time," Axel frowned, "Be a good sport Roxie."

Roxas glared at Axel.

"Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Are you bi?"

Roxas looked at Axel in a dumbfounded fashion.

"Yes… I am, in fact, a biped."

Axel groaned.

"You know that's not what I meant," Axel complained.

"No," Roxas answered, "I am not. I'm perfectly _straight. Linear._ I don't bend any other way."

"Huh," Axel breathed, "Alright, your turn."

"I don't really care enou-" Roxas caught sight of the oncoming overreaction Axel was about to throw and caved. "Alright alright. How many inches is your waistline?"

Axel looked at Roxas eerily for a moment before mumbling something incoherently.

"What was that?" Roxas asked.

"Twenty-two inches!"

Axel looked away, obviously flustered. Roxas fought to suppress a smirk and a laugh.

"Hey, that's more than I thought it would be," Roxas said encouragingly.

"What's _your _waistline?" Axel bit.

"Twenty-five," Roxas said, "But I'm at least seven inches shorter than you."

"You pick mean questions," Axel frowned.

"Well you pick insane questions," Roxas retorted, "it evens out."

"Ok then," Axel said, "When did you get your first kiss?"

Roxas felt himself flush a shade of red, thinking back to the embarrassing incident. It had only been five years ago (when he was thirteen) and with Riku. Sora and Riku, before they even started dating, had gotten into some kind of fight, and to make Sora jealous, Riku kissed Roxas right in front of his brother. Whether or not Riku had achieved whatever his objective was, Roxas will never know, because after Sora ran off, and his initial shock was gone, he punched Riku out and ran after Sora.

_Roxas was sitting on his bed that afternoon, it was cool and the breeze coming in from his open window was nothing short of refreshing. He was thinking about what sort of surprise he should get Sora for their birthday. When he asked his friends, they all answered with the same thing. _

_Porn._

_Sora was never into that sort of stuff though. So Roxas was still at a loss of what to do. _

_Suddenly he heard a knock on his door._

_"It's open," Roxas called._

_To his surprise, a tall (tall for a 13 year old anyway) silver haired boy walked in, closing the door behind him. _

_"Riku," Roxas said in surprise, "what's up?" _

_He and Riku weren't close at all, Riku was Sora's best friend. This would be like if Hayner were to suddenly pop in on Sora one day. _

_Getting past the weirdness of it, however, Roxas was mentally slapping himself on the head for not thinking of it before. Who would know what to get for Sora better than Riku?_

_"Nothing," he answered as concisely as usual. Riku was never much of a conversationalist, and Roxas didn't quite understand how Kairi and Sora had managed to become so close to him. _

_"What're you getting Sora for today?" Roxas asked._

_Riku was silent. As usual. _

_Roxas' face contorted in confusion as he wondered on why exactly Riku had come into his room. _

_Loud footsteps and Sora's talking could suddenly be heard outside of Roxas' door. _

_Before Roxas even had a change to register that, however, he felt a pair of lips suddenly cover his own aggressively. Not two seconds later Roxas' door burst open. _

_"Hey, Roxas, you-"_

_Sora immediately began running the other way. _

_Roxas, in a bit of a delayed reaction, pulled back and slammed his fist straight into Riku's jaw before hopping to his feet and running out of his room in Sora's direction. _

So Riku was the one who unceremoniously stole his first kiss, and it wasn't a topic Roxas liked remembering.

"Five years ago," Roxas answered truthfully, but felt the need to change the subject before Axel could ask a follow-up to it, "What about yours?"

It was the first response that Roxas could formulate.

"Aah," Axel said, making himself comfortable, "That was when I was eleven-"

"Eleven?!" Roxas exclaimed.

"Don't be so rude Roxie," Axel frowned, "And loud. I was trying to tell story here."

"Who has there first kiss when they're eleven?" Roxas demanded, "you're not talking about one of those little playground kisses kindergarteners have are you? 'Cause that doesn't count."

"Well if you would listen to the story you would know," Axel responded.

Roxas fell promptly silent and waited for Axel to begin again.

"Thank you," Axel said, "Well we were in fifth grade. It was me and this boy whose name escapes me at the moment. And, as hard as this may be for you to imagine, I was always somewhat of a class clown" -Roxas scoffed- "and so was this guy. Together we could create chaos in the classroom that would send teachers home in tears."

Axel smiled nostalgically.

"Something to pride yourself on," Roxas agreed sarcastically.

"So one afternoon in detention," Axel went on, "'Cause we always had detention, we were alone and cleaning the classroom during lunch. What's his face was complaining about how bored he was. I was pretty bored too. Then I remembered something I'd seen on TV the night before so I went over and tried it out on him. I frenched him."

"…"

"I think he socked me afterwards," Axel said, "But that was my first kiss. I stole it from some other boy."

"You lunatic!" Roxas screamed at Axel, "how do you think he felt about that? Now he has to go through his whole life with the memory of his first kiss being stolen by some guy he didn't even like that way. Did you even consider that he might be straight?"

Listening to Axel's tale, he realized it was a direct parallel to his own first kiss experience.

"You sure are taking that story pretty close to heart," Axel said slyly, "Did I hit close to home?"

"Ask your damn question!" Roxas snarled, ignoring his last inquiry.

Axel chuckled lightly.

"When's your birthday?"

Roxas was caught off guard a bit by the surprisingly normal question.

"September second," Roxas answered warily.

Axel nodded.

"Your turn."

"Why did you become a teacher?"

The question had been on Roxas' mind for a while, but he didn't care enough to actually ask.

Axel was silent for a second.

"I suppose this is where I answer 'to see the look in their faces when they finally understand'." he said, "But that's not the case. Somebody told me I couldn't. So I did."

"As good a reason as any," Roxas sighed, shaking his head at Axel's reasoning. Doing something because someone told you you couldn't, is just as bad as doing something because they told you you had to.

"Why are you majoring in pre-med?" Axel asked.

"Who said that was my major?" Roxas frowned at his transparency.

"You basically did," Axel answered, "the other day on the way back from the hospital."

Roxas frowned a bit. He was doing a lot of that today.

"Because I was told I should," Roxas answered.

Axel smiled, a smile with an underlying meaning that Roxas didn't care to find out about. It gradually faded away though.

"Go."

"Is that _really_ your natural hair color?"

Axel sighed.

"That again?" he asked, then hesitated a little, "Yes. It is. Do you want proof?"

He began to undo his pants and Roxas hurriedly rushed over to stop him.

"NO!" Roxas blurted, "I believe you!"

Then he realized. His face was inches from Axel. His hands were clamped onto Axel's. Right above _Axel_.

"Well well Roxie," Axel smirked, "All you had to do was ask."

Axel began to lean up towards Roxas' face.

_SMACK!!_

"Yeah right," Roxas huffed, back in his corner, arms folded guardedly.

Axel rubbed the top of his head.

"Oh, c'mon, don't you find me at least a little appealing?" Axel asked.

"I find you utterly repulsive, actually," Roxas informed.

"Why is that?" Axel asked, deliberate hurt lacing his every syllable, "I hold _you_ in the highest of regards."

Roxas looked over at the red-head sitting across the way, smiling impishly at him. Roxas knew the question was primarily rhetorical, yet he was going to seize the opportunity to let Axel know exactly what he was asking for.

"Because you're a deceitful, sadistic, psychotic bastard," Roxas answered matter-of-factly.

The grin left Axel's face as he peered at Roxas blankly. The expressionlessness **(1) **of Axel's features took Roxas slightly aback-- it wasn't something he was used to seeing on the taller man's face.

"Oh?" was Axel's delayed response.

Roxas was beginning to wonder if he he'd made a mistake by saying something.

"Yeah," Roxas stood his ground (however warily).

"How so?"

Axel's usual look of mischievousness had returned about him, and Roxas relaxed.

Roxas shrugged in response to Axel's question.

"It's what I've noticed is all," he answered, "from your interactions and behavior."

"I've never lied to you though Roxie," Axel said, the hurt now returning to his voice.

Roxas shrugged again.

"Wouldn't matter to me if you did," he said, and began gazing down at the dwindling populace of the mall, "but I don't think you're a very happy person either-- despite all the enthusiasm you seem to show."

Roxas didn't dare to look back at Axel again, but took his silence as an inquiry to further explanation.

"I've never seen you smile," Roxas said.

He heard Axel laugh and snapped his head in his direction.

"What are you talking about?" Axel asked, "I smile all the time."

Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Those aren't real smiles," he said, "They're forced, fake, and/or meaningless. And that's part of what makes you deceitful as well. Always smiling-- no-- it's just bearing your teeth, even if u don't mean anything by it. And you talk without saying anything. It's annoying."

"So there's _nothing_ you like about me then?" Axel asked, cranking the hurt factor up a notch. "I'm _that _horrible of a person?"

Roxas couldn't believe the idiocy of this man. Here he was being completely serious and Axel was still acting like a moron.

Roxas closed his eyes in exasperation. How long was he doomed to more of this?

"I don't think you're a bad person," Roxas begrudgingly admitted, "If you were, you wouldn't have two broken ribs right now."

That was Roxas' rationale. It was, so far, the only decent thing he'd known Axel to do as a human being. And a damn big one at that. So Roxas had come to the conclusion that, though Axel would charmingly deceive anyone he felt like, he couldn't be one hundred percent bad.

Moments went by without a response from Axel, and it made Roxas no difference. In fact, it made Roxas kind of happy. In the back of his mind, however, Roxas was wondering what exactly (if anything) was Axel thinking about.

* * *

Roxas was staring out that glass again, Axel noticed. He was doing that a lot. There was nothing but people down there. What could be so fascinating that the boy wouldn't re-direct his attention elsewhere?

Axel found himself wishing Roxas would shine those eyes his way. He liked looking at them.

Axel cracked open the book he'd bought to try and distract himself for a moment. He didn't like to do things by force, and this boy certainly wasn't giving him an easy time.

But Axel still found himself reeling from Roxas' eerily accurate depiction of him. People he'd known for years still hadn't assessed that much of him. And yet Roxas, whom he had known for a total of four days, had already picked up on it. There was his unexpected insight at work again.

Roxas was still gazing out of the glass, determined not to look at Axel. That didn't stop Axel from looking at him. It didn't stop Axel from letting his fantasies get away from him. Here the two of them were, after all, in a tiny place, with little elbow room and nowhere to go.

Axel could think of millions of things he could do to the boy without fear of being caught. A smirk played on Axel's lips at the mere thought of it. If he would only…

Axel crawled over to Roxas as covertly as possible, given the amount of room he had to work with.

"What are you doing?" Roxas bit, once Axel was directly by his side.

"I just wanted to sit by you," Axel informed innocently, "That corner over there is all lonely."

"It's even lonelier now that you've come this way," Roxas said, eyeing Axel scrupulously, before determinedly looking out of the glass again. It wasn't that he was just looking elsewhere, Axel noticed, it was that he was pointedly avoiding having to look at him.

"Roxie?" Axel beckoned, scooting so close to Roxas that their sides were resting against each other. If Roxas weren't already pressed against the glass wall, Axel was sure that he would scoot away.

"What?" Roxas asked, finally turning back towards Axel.

Axel didn't waste any time in closing the small distance between their faces with a kiss. Roxas' lips were even softer than he'd imagined.

Before he had any time to revel in exactly how soft they were, however, he felt Roxas make a sudden movement with his arms. Predicting that the outcome would be painful for him, Axel quickly pulled away before grabbing onto both of Roxas' upper shoulders.

"Hitting is not nice Roxie," Axel chastised.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM!?" Roxas screamed, "ARE YOU-- mmf!"

Axel kissed him again. For longer this time. With Roxas' hands secured, Axel was free to take his time, to trace along Roxas' lips with his tongue…

Axel was about to pull away when, to his almost undying surprise, Roxas began kissing back, parting his lips for Axel to enter.

Axel didn't need to be begged.

Axel, in all his broken-ribbed glory, shifted Roxas so that the younger boy was straddling him, lips still locked all the while. Axel slipped a hand under Roxas' shirt, exploring the expanse of skin. It was impossibly soft, and yet defined at the same time. Axel couldn't comprehend such an anomaly.

Roxas moaned under his touch and Axel felt himself getting excited.

Finally, Roxas broke away to catch his breath.

"Seems like you like something else about me," Axel said smugly, and Roxas looked up at him, those bright blue eyes shining locked with Axel's.

He felt his heart stop.

Before he could stop himself, Axel captured those lips again, forcing them open this time and kissing Roxas with as much fierceness as he dared use. He took his fingers and lightly brushed them over the two buds beneath the boy's shirt, and caroused in the sounds that were escaping him.

He felt himself quickly hardening; a process only sped up when Roxas decided to grind his hips into Axel's. Axel inadvertently broke away from his kiss, throwing his head back against the wall of the elevator at the sensation. He heard Roxas laugh lightly.

Axel frowned playfully before reaching behind Roxas' head to pull him in for another impassioned kiss. Roxas rocked his hips back and forth, heightening the sense of lustfulness in the small elevator. The small, see through elevator. Suspended 30 feet above the first floor, however, meant that there were no spectators…

Axel would take full advantage of that.

He ended the kiss again, only to remove Roxas' shirt completely. He didn't want to waste time in admiring the view, because his lower half was screaming at him to speed things up.

Axel took Roxas in his arms and pulled his body even closer to him before taking on of the younger man's nipples into his mouth. He sucked on it with a fervor and enjoyed when Roxas arched into the touch. The moans he earned from his ministrations were serving as an aphrodisiac.

Axel was about to strip the boy of his pants…

But then he felt a sharp pang on his head.

Axel's eyelids shot open and he found himself staring into those blue eyes again, but this time with a ferocity behind them.

"Oh you're finally up now?"

Roxas backed away from him. He wasn't straddling him, he was just on all fours. And he scooted his way back into his corner of the elevator.

"Up?" Axel finally asked, looking around to reassess his surroundings.

"You fell asleep," Roxas explained, "And if it hadn't been for your crazy…mumblings, I would have let you keep sleeping."

_So it was all a dream?_

Axel felt a tightness in his pants, and immediately looked down. He felt a wave of relief over come him when his eyes feel upon the book he was reading, promptly covering the "problem" area.

Dream or not, it had certainly left it's mark on reality.

"So what was I saying?" Axel dared to ask.

Roxas was still refusing to look at him.

"I don't know exactly…" Roxas responded quietly, "something about lonely corners and blue eyes…"

Axel smiled smugly. Roxas was hiding something. Axel had a feeling the boy knew a lot more about what he had been dreaming than he was letting on.

"That so?" Axel inquired cheerfully, "well great then."

He felt himself relaxing again.

"So how long was I out?" Axel asked, craning his neck to peer down at the people below. There were very few now. Mostly security guards.

"Just fifteen minutes."

"Why do you keep looking that way?" Axel finally asked, "there's nothing down there."

Roxas shrugged.

"I'm looking for something to look at."

"You know you're not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition," Axel informed, trying to coax Roxas to look his way.

"You do it all the time," Roxas sneered at the glass.

"I've already got my degree though."

"So that gives you license to defile the English language?"

"Damned skippy."

Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Then I'm looking for something at which to look," he offered.

Not even a glance. Axel frowned.

"You know every person I've ever been with has been a guy who used to be straight," Axel offered.

That got Roxas' attention. His eyes slowly found their way to Axel.

"And?"

"Or taken," Axel went on. "Every man was either in a relationship, or didn't think he swung that way."

Roxas didn't say anything, but his eyes were still steadfastly on Axel.

"There was one time when I had sex with a man who was both," Axel continued, "but that was just a horrible debacle and everything ended up badly. You see it's a fault of mine. I become infatuated with a person and tell myself I have to have him no matter what. With my mind set on that, I've always been able to coax the object of my infatuation into bed. The problem is, after that, I don't want anything else to do with him. It's an awful pattern that I realize, and yet am unable to break."

Roxas' gaze became noticeably upset.

"That wouldn't be a problem though," Axel went on, "If the guy didn't fall in love with me in the process. It's a horrible thing. I realize it and yet I just can't stop myself."

"Is there a reason you're telling me this?"

Axel was absolutely dancing in those eyes' gaze.

"Yes, actually," Axel responded, "I just wanted to let you know, that I want you. I am attracted to you. I wanna see your face while you're at your climax and I wanna hear your voice then too. And I've just made up my mind to see and hear those things."

Roxas' eyes widened and he drew back into his corner as much as he could.

"Don't worry," Axel chuckled, "I'm not one to take these things by force. There's no satisfaction in it that way."

"What the hell are you saying!?" Roxas demanded angrily.

Axel smirked from ear to ear at the blonde.

"That I'm gonna make you fall for me, Roxas."

* * *

**Trolly Lolly Lolly. How many of you thought that half-lemon was real? Eeh? Haha. Can't be messin up my story line like that…**

**I had planned to write out a full lemon, but got rly lazy rly suddenly, so I didn't. I kinda like it better this way anyway. There's more of an effect, ya know?**

**(1) Expressionlessness is also, not a word. I'm making that one up too.**

**oh, btw, i'd appreciate it if u guys pointed out all the mistakes in here to me. i didnt have time to have it beta-ed.**


	9. IX

EDIT: FTW. why was half the chapter italicized??

**A/N: Allo loverlies. Thanks for all the reviews!! That was the**** most I ever got for a chapter. Ever. Lol. Enjoy.**

* * *

Roxas unlocked the door to his apartment that Saturday evening, after having just come from the last of his classes for the day. He'd spent the whole day traveling across the very large campus of Olympus University, and it didn't help that he had completely forgotten to drop by the registration office to drop his physics class.

When he walked into his apartment, he was surprised to see his roommate laid out on their couch watching television.

"Hayner," Roxas said, not hiding the surprise in his tone, "What are you doing here?"

Hayner took his eyes from the plasma screen to look at Roxas.

"I live here."

Roxas threw his book bag on the love seat before flopping down beside it.

"I know that," Roxas glared, "I meant why are you home? It's a Saturday night."

Hayner looked back at the TV before shrugging lazily.

"Can't I stay home for once?"

Roxas frowned a bit.

"Did you knock someone up?"

"What!? I knocked-- oh. No. No I didn't," Hayner exclaimed before quickly recollecting his composure, "Don't scare me like that man. No, to my knowledge, I haven't gotten anyone pregnant."

"Right," Roxas said, making himself more comfortable on the couch, "So you've just decided to take a break from your regular routine of party all night, sleep all day, to watch… SpongeBob?"

Hayner folded his arms indignantly.

"It's a good show!"

"Hayner…"

"Alright alright," he finally sighed, then paused for a while.

Roxas sat across from his roommate, still awaiting the end of that sentence.

"Well?"

"I met someone," he murmured, so quietly Roxas wasn't entirely sure if that's what he even said.

"So what?" Roxas rebutted, "You meet a lot of people."

"NO! But--"

Hayner flushed a deep shade of red, and had a look in his eyes that Roxas hadn't seen in a long time.

"No way…" Roxas said, "you actually like this one?"

"Roxas, could we please not talk about this?"

"Why not?" Roxas demanded, "Isn't this what best friends are supposed to talk about?" Hayner gave him a pleading look. "Fine, fine. You're off the hook… for now. You keep on watching your SpongeBob."

"Thank you," Hayner said, relaxing back from a tension Roxas hadn't noticed before. "So how were your classes?"

"Fine," Roxas said, recalling the four classes from earlier, "uneventful."

"Uneventful?" Hayner asked skeptically, "Didn't you have that one with Axel this morning? Things between you two are rarely uneventful."

"There are no _things_ between us two!" Roxas snapped, feeling himself tense up at just the mention of that psychotic red-head. Ever since the little elevator experience…

After Axel's declaration, the electricity started running again, and Axel made a phone call and found his own way from the mall, much to Roxas' relief. After being told he was going to fall for Axel, he didn't much look forward to any more alone time with the guy. And thankfully, Roxas hadn't seen Axel at all since then either. That was three days ago.

Roxas should have been thrilled by that, but it only meant that he lived each day on end. Every time he walked outside of his apartment, he half expected to see Axel standing there, calling his name.

It was more torturous than actually spending time with the guy.

"I didn't go to that class," Roxas informed Hayner, "I'm dropping it. I've told you all before."

"Why would you do that?" Hayner asked, "You're in good with the teacher. You've been served up an opportunity on a silver platter that most students would kill for."

"Is that so?" Roxas asked, watching SpongeBob now more than he was listening to Hayner. If Hayner only knew _how_ good he was in with Axel… Roxas had an urge to change the subject. "Pence and Olette don't seem to be behaving any differently."

The four of them had had lunch together, like they do every Saturday. Pence and Olette acted the same as they always had, and nothing at all seemed to have changed.

"I think that's mostly for our sake," Hayner responded, "What are you doing tomorrow? It's been a while since we just hung out, the two of us."

Roxas shrugged noncommittally.

"I'm not sure," he said, "I have to go back to Olympus tomorrow in the morning to drop that class, but other than that I think I'm free for the day."

"Right, so lets do something."

"Like what?" Roxas asked, staring at the commercial of dancing bread slices, "and why are you watching this channel?"

"Oh, like you wouldn't be able to sing along with the bread," Hayner accused, "I was thinking we'd go to the park, play a little tennis. It's been a while, and you're probably starting to get a gut already."

"Ha, ha," Roxas said, "That's fine with me. Tomorrow is Sunday though, so if we don't get there early, it's gonna get crowded and we probably won't be able to get a court."

Hayner nodded.

"I'll go with you to drop your class in the morning," Hayner suggested, "And we'll go straight to the park from there."

"Fine," Roxas said, "Why all of a sudden though."

"Well you've been spending all your time with Axel lately, I was starting to feel neglected."

Roxas laughed loudly.

"You sound like my girlfriend," Roxas said, earning a sharp dagger of a glare from Hayner, "And it's not like that's all my fault. You're the one waking up with a different girl every morning."

Hayner muttered something Roxas couldn't catch, but was sure wasn't anything pleasant.

"Tomorrow then."

* * *

As he'd expected, the line in front of the registration office was impossibly long, comprised of students trying to get added to classes and students trying to drop them. Luckily, Roxas had anticipated this and arrived before the office even opened on Sundays, which was at nine a.m. So when the doors to said office opened on schedule, Roxas was one of the first ones in.

There were only two people ahead of them, but depending on what they needed, he could be waiting for a bit. Because of that, he told Hayner to wait in the car.

When the doors opened, Roxas and the first few members of the line walked in to a very rectangular room. It was wide, but left hardly any space to house the seemingly endless line it always harbored. The help desk stretched across the width of the room, with different sections to help multiple students at one time.

But only one was open.

"Ugh, these lines are always ridiculous!" Roxas heard one girl behind him complain.

"Yeah, and there's only one desk open," her male companion answered.

"We're lucky they're open in the first place," another female interjected, "today is the deadline to drop classes for the semester without a W appearing on your record."

"That's the only reason I'm here," the other female replied, "Olympus is ridiculous. It's only a week into the first semester."

"It's only because the board likes to discourage people from dropping classes in the first place."

The voice caused the hairs on Roxas' neck to stand on end. He turned his head sharply to see Axel standing behind him, on the side of the line, smiling down at the students. In his hands was the brief case he'd seen on his first day of class.

"Axel!" the girl exclaimed in surprise. Roxas could see now, the trio whose voices he'd been hearing, they were a group of Preps. Painfully so. The guy was in an argyle sweater vest, and beige khaki shorts, while the other girls were wearing polo shirts and pleated skirts.

Olympus University was home to a lot of rich kids.

Axel looked up and caught Roxas' eye, causing the latter to turn back around and focus on the head of short sandy blonde hair in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" the guy of the group asked.

"I _do_ work here," Axel said, "Ansem is out this month, so I've taken over his class for the time being. Here to turn in a couple of drop slips for students who've missed the first two classes."

"What a lucky group," one of the girls said, "to have you as a teacher. We had to stare at that crusty old man every Saturday."

"Flattery doesn't get you anywhere with me," Axel laughed, "I'm not _your_ teacher."

The line moved as the first person up was finished with whatever it was he was doing.

"Yes I'd like to drop this class," the blonde ahead of Roxas said once he was at the front desk.

"So you three aren't planning on dropping are you?" Axel asked.

"Of course we are!" The first girl cried, "We have Professor Zexion for our calculus class. ZEXION! Do you know how _hard _he is? How does anyone pass his class?"

"Zexion isn't so tough," Axel chuckled, "He's just really… book intensive."

"Well we're not," the girl spoke for the group, "and if we want to pass calculus, it certainly isn't going to be with him as a teacher."

"Well I guess I can't stop you," Axel said, "But if you drop every single hard class, you're not gonna know what hit you when you go to work out there…"

"Yeah yeah, school is nothing like the real world, we've already heard it."

Axel laughed again.

"Just a fair warning."

"That's not your ID number," the receptionist droned in her boring voice. She was a short old, wrinkly lady with a sheet of snow white hair on her head. "Enter it again."

Roxas inwardly groaned. Why did things always go slowly just when he needed them to speed up?

"Roxie," the voice was spoken lowly, and almost directly into Roxas' ear.

"That's not my name," Roxas growled, pushing Axel's face away from his.

Axel murmured something into Roxas palm that Roxas couldn't distinguish.

"What?"

Roxas felt a slimy moisture slide along the center of his palm.

"UGH!" Roxas groaned, quickly retracting his hand from Axel's face and looking at it in utter horror and disgust, "YOU LICKED ME!"

Axel licked his lips as Roxas slid his hand against Axel's side, wiping the spit off on his black slacks.

"Not in public Roxie," Axel smirked, causing Roxas to quickly retract his hand, "And I said 'Roxie is a lot cuter'."

"Moron."

Roxas was suddenly aware of every set of eyes in the room resting upon him, and quickly turned back to face the front of the line, trying to hide his rising blush.

"Would you please go away?"

"Why're you dressed like that?" Axel inquired, referring to the tennis gear Roxas was suited up in.

"That's none of your business."

"Then why're you here?"

"Also, none of your business," Roxas lied.

"I think you're trying to drop my class."

"Who cares what you think?"

"Roxie, stop being so mean all the time."

"Stop being so moronic all the time."

"Sir, do you _know_ your student ID number?" The old lady at the desk droned again.

"You know you're breaking my heart Roxie," Axel said, "Trying to drop my class like this."

"I'm not trying," Roxas replied, "I will. As soon as this idiot in front of me figures out his ID number is _just his social_." **(1)**

Roxas made sure that whoever was ahead of him heard that last part. But then immediately regretted it. He hadn't meant to be so rude, but Axel always had the effect of bringing out the worst in him.

"Don't be rash," Axel said, "I'm only the teacher for the next two classes. It seems kinda irrational to drop a whole semester's class just to avoid the next two classes, don't you think?"

"Why does it matter to you?" Roxas sighed.

Axel was silent for a moment.

"Ok," he began, "I'm sure you've noticed that for the last few days, I haven't been around as often. That wasn't an accident. If you dropped my class, there would be no reason for me to stay away from you as much anymore."

Roxas craned his neck around slowly to stare at Axel.

"Are you _threatening_ me?"

"It's working."

Roxas stared at Axel in utter disbelief. Was this man standing here trying to tell him that he had been steering clear of him out of kindness and consideration? Roxas scoffed at the thought.

But what Axel was saying about dropping the class to avoid the next two classes was true.

It was only two classes out of thirteen more.

But with _Axel._

"If you look at this objectively," he continued, "you'll know I'm right."

"The situation is anything but objective," Roxas said dangerously, earning a soft laughter from Axel.

"Well I can't stop you can I?" he asked, then reached opened his briefcase to reach inside it for something, "You left this the other day."

Axel had, in his hand, the book that he had purchased Roxas the other day. Immediately the shorter man's face flushed over, and he quickly snatched the book away to hide it from public view.

"See? Crap like this is exactly why I'm dropping your class," Roxas hissed.

"I thought it was because you're afraid you're actually gonna fall for me like I said," Axel said in exaggerated thoughtfulness.

"There's no way in hell…"

"Then why are you running?"

Roxas stared up into those lime green eyes, glared up is more accurate, and they gazed back down, smugness gracing their every feature.

"Next," he heard the receptionist call, and saw the sandy blonde walk away and out the door.

Axel was only trying to provoke him. Roxas knew it. Roxas knew, that Axel knew, that Roxas knew it. But damn it to hell, it worked anyway.

"_Next,_" the lady emphasized.

"You are beyond annoying," Roxas spat, stepping out of the line and allowing the person behind him to go, "I'm not running. I've got nothing to be afraid of."

And on that note, Roxas hurriedly squeezed past the students in the doorway to meet Hayner in the car, not wanting to give Axel any opportunity to react.

"Fifteen page research paper!" he heard Axel call after him, "Laws of thermo-dynamics! Due next class!"

Roxas sighed and rushed back to the parking lot.

* * *

It was close to evening the next day, Roxas' favorite time of day. Where the sun's position in the sky made the whole atmosphere a comforting shade of orange. It was mesmerizing, in a sense.

Roxas would have loved nothing more than to stand outside in the courtyard of his apartment building everyday around that time to take in the soothing settings. Especially that day, since Roxas' muscles were still a little sore from running around a tennis court for the first time in five months. Recently, however, such actions came with a certain risk attached to it.

"Roxiiieee!!"

Roxas didn't even bother looking around, but instead, began to head straight for his apartment's door again. What a perfect setting, completely ruined.

"Wait!"

He felt a hand latch on to his wrist.

"What is it now?" Roxas asked, turning around to look at Axel, now dressed more casually than Roxas had seen him earlier. Simple jeans and a black t-shirt.

"Let's go out tonight."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Didn't you tell me you would spend less time with me if I didn't drop your class?"

"No," Axel said, "I told you that I would spend more time around you if you did. You know what they say about assuming Roxie…" **(2)**

Roxas glowered up at Axel.

"Where are you trying to drag me now?"

"A party," Axel responded, "Well… more or less. We're going to see Demyx perform with his band at his club."

It took Roxas a second to recall who Demyx was.

"What makes you think I'm remotely interested in his affairs?" Roxas asked, "Or spending time with you?"

"You can't say no," Axel frowned, "You're still my chauffer. Even if you sit in the car all night."

"How do you know I don't have plans tonight?"

Axel hesitated for a moment.

"Do you?"

Now it was Roxas who hesitated.

"You're missing the point entirely," Roxas said, "How do you expect to win anyone over if you keep barging in and dragging them to places they don't wanna go to spend time with people they don't want to be with?"

"…So your saying I have a chance?"

"That is NOT what I'm saying," Roxas sighed, "forget it."

"C'mon Roxie."

Roxas was feeling an ominous sense of déjà vu coming from this conversation. It was too similar to the one they'd had right before Axel had managed to force Roxas into escorting him to the mall.

"No."

Roxas wouldn't budge this time.

"Please?"

He learned his lessons.

"Pretty please?"

"I said _no._"

"Roxie…"

_Shit._

* * *

It was dark, around nine in the evening or so, and the two of them pulled up in some wide alley speckled by a few cars. Roxas was driving Axel's car. "So you can't escape," Axel had explained earlier.

"Here?" Roxas asked, not bothering to hide the suspect on his face. This was, after all, a dark, lonely alley. Where goodness KNOWS what Axel would do to him.

"Here," Axel confirmed, looking ahead. "See that guy in the suit up there? By the door?"

Roxas looked up and noticed who Axel was referring to.

"What about him?" Roxas asked.

"He's the jumper," he replied, "Name's Rude."

"_Rude?_" Roxas asked, not quite grasping that someone would call themselves that.

"He's the guy's ass you need to kiss if you want him to save yours when some drunk comes out swinging," Axel explained.

Axel unlocked the doors with the button on the passenger door.

"Excuse me?" Roxas asked.

"Well it was just a heads up," Axel said, "for if you decide to stay out here all night instead of coming in with me."

"I'll be in the car," Roxas pointed out, "why would I need him to protect me?"

"Oh no," Axel laughed, "You're not staying in _my _Camaro so that when that drunk, or _drunks_, come out and decides to get you, he has to go through my car first."

"And what makes you so sure I'm going to incite the fighting spirit of some random drunk?" Roxas demanded.

"Always happens to some poor sap every night," Axel said, "So are you coming in or not?"

Roxas rubbed the bridge of his nose agitatedly.

"You're beyond annoying."

"Just come in," Axel said, "Demyx asked me to invite you anyway."

"Why?"

"How should I know," Axel said, getting out of the car, closing his door, and walking around to Roxas side. He opened the driver's door, "But possibilities of a defiled car aside, I'd much rather you remained intact as well."

"Charmed," Roxas said, regretfully stepping out of the car.

"It won't be so bad Roxie," Axel comforted, "Demyx has gotten a lot better. Honest."

Roxas ignored Axel and made his way to the door. It was cold outside, and the air in the alley was humid. Roxas would have loved nothing more than to be at home, in his comfort zone, but for some reason, let this buffoon bring him here.

"Hey," Axel told the jumper once they reached the entrance. Up close, Roxas could more clearly see this man. He had five o clock shadow, was completely bald, and outrageously bulky. Classic jumper.

"Axel," the man acknowledged, then his sight landed on Roxas, "A bit smaller than usual."

Roxas was about ready slap the man's shades clear off his face.

"Rude, buddy," Axel laughed nervously, "Comments like that are really hurting my chances."

Rude nodded apologetically, and Roxas, too dumbfounded at being talked about like a piece of meat, could do nothing but gawk.

"Show starts in half an hour," Rude said before opening the door and stepping out of the way so that Axel and Roxas could pass.

Axel took a few steps before realizing Roxas wasn't following. He went back and dragged the boy in by his wrist.

"C'mon Roxie," he beckoned, leading them into a very dimly lit café-ish type environment. There was a bar on side of the room, and a stage on another. There was no one on the stage, and no music playing. There was the hum of dozens of conversations being held simultaneously, and the harmony of glass clinking, accented by the scuffling of a mass of moving bodies.

And there were a lot of bodies.

A lot.

Unlike the club that Axel bartended, there were tables and seating here, so overall, there was a homey feeling to the place.

"Thirsty?" Axel asked, leading Roxas to the nearest empty table.

Roxas felt that tonight, liquor would be his friend.

"Gin martini, with a twist, straight up, and dry."

"I'm not the bartender tonight," Axel said before signaling towards the bar for a waiter, "this place is a lot ritzier than where I work."

"Can I get you something to drink?" A female attendant asked once she reached the table.

"My friend here would like a gin martini, with a twist, straight up and dry," Axel repeated, "I'll have coke and rum please."

"Sure thing Axel," she said before scampering off to the bar.

Axel sure was well known around here, Roxas noticed.

"Glad you could make it Roxas," A voice said from behind.

Roxas turned around to see Demyx, dressed casually in a black turtle neck short sleeve shirt and dark blue denim jeans.

"No problem," Roxas lied politely.

"Hey!" Axel over Roxas' head to Demyx, "You told me your show started at eight thirty. Rude said it starts in half an hour-- at nine thirty."

"Well if I'd told you when it really started you would have been thirty minutes late," Demyx responded, "So Roxas, how do you like it here?"

"It's got a soothing atmosphere," Roxas replied absentmindedly, looking down at the polished cherry wood table.

"Always a good thing to hear," Demyx laughed.

The waitress returned with the ordered drinks on a tray.

"That was fast," Roxas thought aloud.

"Well anything for our favorite customer," she said, looking at Axel.

As she took the drinks off the tray and set Axel's down on the table, Axel caught her hand before it left the drink and looked her in the eye.

"Thank you gorgeous," he said smoothly, causing her pale cheeks to flush a deep red before she quickly retreated back to whence she came.

"Charming," Roxas said, throwing the little umbrella out of his martini away and beginning to down it, "Why, I always say to people, the quickest way to get someone in the bed is to blatantly flirt with other women right in front of them."

Axel took a sip of his drink.

"Jealous?"

"You caught me."

Out the corner of his eye Roxas saw someone rush over.

"We need you back stage," the person told Demyx while trying to catch his breath.

"If you'll excuse me," Demyx said.

Roxas noted how much more civilized Demyx seemed tonight, as opposed to when they first met.

Demyx left and Roxas noted that his martini glass was now empty.

He called for the bartender.

"Trying to get drunk again?" Axel asked, taking his second sip from his drink.

"Yeah," Roxas said as the bartender came over, "can I get another one of these?" He turned back to Axel. "I mean, spending _more _time with you? I'd prefer not to remember it in the morning."

"That hurts my feelings Roxie," Axel replied.

Roxas ignored him.

The bartender left with Roxas' glass and came back a few minutes later with another.

Which Roxas promptly downed again.

He could feel the alcohol beginning to take effect. He wasn't anywhere near drunkenness, but the tipsy was there.

"What?"

"Why are you trying to ruin me because of your own rampant hormones?" Roxas elaborated.

Axel was silent for a second. Then a minute. And Roxas was getting frustrated with his silence.

"Hello?" Roxas asked.

In a sudden motion Roxas barely had time to register, Axel had stood up and leaned across the small circular table, pulling Roxas forward by his shirt at the same time, and kissed him.

* * *

**Sry for the lateness ppl. **

**And btw, this ones not a dream.**

**Fauhahaha.**

**Review plz! They were the only things that kept motivating me to get this chapter out.**

**(1) For those who don't live in America, Social Security Number.**

**(2) For those who don't know, lol. Assuming makes an ASS out of U and ME.**


	10. X

**A day earlier than wat I said in the memo. So I listened to music this time. Here's the play list:**

**Collide -- Howie Day**

**Sara Smile -- Hall and Oates**

**No Vengas a Mi -- Kylie Minogue (RLY!?)**

**How You Remind Me -- Nickleback**

**I Hate Everything About You -- Three Days Grace**

**Headstrong -- Trapt**

**Grand Theft Autumn -- Fall Out Boy **

**Barely Breathing -- Duncan Sheik**

**No Me Queda Mas -- Selena**

**Just a Friend -- Mario**

**Can't Take My Eyes off of You -- Frankie Valie**

**When Doves Cry -- Prince**

**Tattoo -- Jordan Sparks**

**Te Quise Tanto -- Paulina Rubio**

**OH, and because I have a lazy/shoddy beta reader for this chapter, lol, point out all the mistakes plz. Even the tiny miniscule ones.**

* * *

The kiss was fast, hard, and more painful than it was disgusting, and Roxas' reaction was just about instantaneous.

The blonde lost no time in forcefully ramming his fist into Axel's side, causing him to collapse straight on the table-- straight on their drinks.

"You're doing a lotta stretching for someone with broken ribs," Roxas challenged as Axel struggled to sit back up in his chair, "Try something like that again and I won't be so nice next time. You spilled your drink."

Axel sat across, waiting for the pain to subside.

"That was a cheap shot," he breathed.

"You kissed me." Roxas reminded, "I hope you didn't expect any sort of reciprocation."

Axel was silent for a second.

"You're taking this all rather calmly," he said, "I thought for sure you'd be yelling and still beating me for that."

Roxas signaled the barkeep over.

"You didn't answer my question?" Roxas demanded, wiping his mouth in attempt to purify them.

Axel shrugged before reaching over to stand his cup up right again.

"You're nothing new to me Roxie," he began, "You're a passing infatuation and us having sex will cure me of you."

Roxas frowned deeply at Axel's response as the female waitress from earlier came back again.

"Some napkins please?" Roxas asked, regaining his calm, "And a refill." He turned to Axel. "Did you want a refill too?"

Axel shook his head.

"I don't like to drink much."

Roxas narrowed his eyebrows.

"You're a_ bartender_."

"Doesn't mean I'm an alcoholic."

The girl reached into the front pockets of her apron and pulled out a handful of napkins and handed them to Roxas before picking up his glass and heading back.

Roxas handed a few of the napkins to Axel and used the rest to begin cleaning up the table.

"And exactly how many people have fallen for you again?" Roxas asked, changing the subject, "You flirt with others, force yourself upon them, and _still_ manage to get them into bed? Forgive me, but your technique seems a bit off."

"Well not everyone's been quite as difficult about it as you," Axel grumbled, using some of the napkins to wipe off his shirt. Luckily for Axel, coke and rum didn't show through the dark green dress shirt he'd chosen to wear for the night.

"You're repulsive," Roxas spat.

"You know," Axel began, "You keep pointing out the wrong things that I'm doing in order to win you over. It's almost like you _want_ me to succeed."

Roxas fought the scarlet flush that threatened to consume his face.

"Its almost like you _want _me to crack those ribs again."

A tall woman suddenly started walking her way over to where they were sitting. She had a perfect hour glass figure, long onyx curls, a slinky red dress, and legs for days. Once she reached them, she shot Roxas a quick glance before leaning in, rather suggestively, towards Axel.

"Care to dance?"

Axel smiled-- smirked.

"There's no music."

The woman lowered her eyes seductively.

"We'll make our own," she responded.

Axel's eyes found Roxas', and the latter threw his hands up and sat back in his chair.

"Don't let me ruin your fun."

The woman placed her hands on her hips as the waitress came back and set Roxas' drink on the table.

Roxas thanked the waitress as she left and began drinking.

"You know," the onyx haired temptress began, "My brother's available if you're looking for someone."

Roxas sputtered and began choking on his drink.

Axel laughed loudly.

"W-w-what!" Roxas stuttered and coughed through Axel's laugh, "I'm not--"

"He's taken," Axel said, coming down from his high while standing up and taking the woman by her hand, "Shall we?"

Axel sent a dubious wink Roxas' way, to which the latter folded his arms indignantly. He had the feeling that Axel had just been referring to himself rather than Namine.

The two left for the isolated dance floor in front of the stage, leaving Roxas to glare after while trying to regain his breath. He hadn't been sitting too long when Demyx came back over and sat himself down where Axel had been.

"Looks like you've been ditched," Demyx observed.

"I don't mind so much," Roxas replied truthfully, taking his drink and downing it again. He then turned his gaze to Demyx, sitting right across from him, who was staring at Axel and the woman. "So what is Axel to you anyway?"

Demyx's eyes widened as though he had been snapped out of some kind of trance.

"I'm sorry?"

"What is Axel to you?" Roxas repeated, "When I first saw you I could swear you and him were going out. But here he is flirting and dancing with other women…" …_And telling me he's gonna screw me…_ Roxas added silently.

"We're…friends," Demyx said after some thought.

Roxas felt as the liquor was beginning to weigh down on him. He idly wondered if now was the time to stop drinking.

"I don't buy it," Roxas said, setting down his now empty glass.

Demyx frowned.

"Why not?"

"Because I see the way you look at him," Roxas said, mocking Demyx's frown, "There's no way the two of you are just friends…"

Demyx folded his arms incredulously.

"Well fine then," Demyx snapped, "how about fuck buddies?"

Roxas was slightly taken aback by the sudden hostility.

"I'm sorry," Roxas said, a little more sober from the sudden outburst, "I shouldn't have prodded."

Demyx shook his head apologetically.

"No," he said, "Sorry for losing my cool."

He ran a hand across the top of his head.

"But I suppose it's just as I said," Demyx went on, "It's a one sided love on my part. _I'm _taken, but Axel… he refuses to be…"

Roxas thought back to what Axel had said on the elevator.

"_That wouldn't be a problem though," Axel went on, "If the guy didn't fall in love with me in the process. It's a horrible thing. I realize it and yet I just can't stop myself."_

Had that happened to Demyx? Had he been happy and content in a relationship that was ruined by Axel's uncontained testosterone? And here he was now, hopelessly following a man he knew would never love him back?

The thought made Roxas' blood boil and his sympathy went out to Demyx.

"I don't need your pity," Demyx said, as though reading Roxas' mind, "I am fully aware of my own situation and what I should do…"

His thoughts were left to trail elsewhere as he abruptly stood back up.

"Sorry," he laughed, "I only just sat down and here I am leaving again. The show should be starting soon. Please enjoy!"

With that he bounded off towards a door behind the bar as happy as he appeared when Roxas first met him.

* * *

Roxas got home half an hour after his lunch with Hayner, Pence and Olette at the usual spot. The previous night had flowed by relatively smoothly-- as smoothly as things can flow with Axel in the mix at least-- once Demyx and his band started to perform. Axel still flirted with anything on two legs, and wouldn't stop trying to touch Roxas.

The redhead had the bruises to show for it.

Roxas walked into his apartment just in time to here the house phone ring. Quickly rushing into the house and slamming the door shut behind him, he picked up the black, cordless, and compact receiver that was resting on the coffee table.

"Hello?"

"I just called to thank you," Sora's voice came from the other end, "For the lovely package I just received a few minutes ago."

Roxas had to keep himself from bursting into laughter. He'd express-mailed Sora the book he'd gotten out of that store with Axel the other day.

"No problem," Roxas answered, "Anything for a brother."

"So I'm interested to know, where you found the guts to buy this."

Roxas didn't much feel like giving Sora the knitty gritty details of his practical abduction, and how he was forced to pick a book.

"An acquaintance of mine actually bought it," Roxas told truthfully, "I think he was trying to pull a prank or something. So how have you been?"

Roxas didn't want to give Sora an opportunity to pry. Sora was the person who could most easily and most quickly spot of Roxas was hiding something or not telling the truth.

"You man the Auron thing?" Sora asked, "I'm fine. Riku and Kairi really helped pull me together. Its so embarrassing when I freak out like that over something as natural as…"

Sora didn't want to say it, and Roxas didn't want to say it if Sora didn't want it said.

"So have you signed up at UDISP yet?" Roxas asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"No," Sora chuckled uneasily, "Since me and Riku had a delay with the moving, and it's too late to add, we were going to try and get in some late start classes this January."

Roxas raised his eyebrows and took the phone with him to the kitchen.

"Oh, almost two full months with no school," he said, "What do you and Riku plan to be doing? In that dorm? Alone?"

Sora began stuttering when Roxas suddenly heard the call waiting beep.

"Hold up," Roxas said, and took the phone off his ear to look at the caller ID-- it was a number he didn't recognize. "I have a call on the other line."

He didn't wait for a response before clicking over.

"Hello?" Roxas asked.

"Roxie!"

"How the hell did you get this number?!"

"You're listed," Axel replied, "And I thought getting your cell phone number would have been a bit too invasive…"

"You've broken into my house," Roxas said, "and you're worried about getting a number being too _invasive_?"

"There's a fine line Roxie, a fine line."

"Give me a reason, a damned good reason, why I shouldn't just hang up on you right now."

"I'll call you back?"

"I won't answer."

"Then I'll just be forced to visit you instead."

Roxas hesitated, remembering the agitation he'd felt the last time he'd woken up in the middle of the night to find Axel raiding his kitchen.

"…What do you want?"

"Lunch."

"Make it yourself," Roxas said, "You're not that helpless."

"No," Axel laughed, "I meant with you. Let's go on a date."

"What would possess you to think I would consent to that?" Roxas asked, "Even if I was gay, even if you didn't annoy me to no end, I'm taken."

"Well if you were gay," Axel began, "who's to say that you would be taken? Because you certainly be with that slave driver you're with now--"

"Goodbye."

"Wait wait!" Axel said, "I'm sorry. Um, ok, then let's just have lunch. No date."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't like you."

"Alright," Axel said, dragging out the word, "Then how about you, as my chauffer for the duration of my broken ribs, escort me to a place to eat tomorrow at twelve thirty?"

"How clever of you," Roxas said sarcastically, realizing that he was soon finding himself in a losing battle. "For-"

Suddenly Roxas heard the living room door fly open and crash into the wall.

"Bang bang!"

Roxas recognized Hayner's voice and watched with widened eyes as the dirty blonde leaped into the kitchen with his hands pointed in gun formation.

"You'd be raped and murdered," he said, taking off his back pack and tossing it lazily onto the dining table, "The door was unlocked."

Then an idea dawned upon Roxas.

"Alright," he said, "I'll have lunch with you tomorrow. I'll choose the place though. Be at my apartment by noon."

Axel gasped loudly into his phone.

"Now I have someone else on the other line, good bye." Roxas turned to Hayner, "Sorry about the lock thing."

Hayner, already halfway out of the room, only waved his hand lazily in response, clearly over the whole ordeal.

Roxas looked down at his phone, about to hit the switch button, and saw two numbers in the little digital display, one Axel's and the other Sora's. Then to his horror, he noted the word that was in the bottom right corner of the illuminated display.

"_Conference_."

Roxas watched as Axel's number disappeared and he slowly put his ear to the phone again.

"Hello?"

"Hey Roxie," Sora replied.

"If you were there the whole time why didn't you say anything!?" Roxas exclaimed furiously.

"Oh I was far too entertained," Sora laughed, "Slave driver… I like this guy."

"I'll kill you…"

"What's that Riku!?" Sora suddenly said loudly, "No, yeah, I'll be right there. Later Roxie!"

Roxas yelled into the phone as the sound of Sora's laughter suddenly died with a click.

"Why're you home so early?" Roxas asked, walking into the living room and trying to calm himself down. "Don't you have your psych class right now?"

Hayner was laid out on the couch watching TV again.

"I don't feel like it today," he said, then glanced at the clock on the cable box, "Plus it's almost three, I have a date tonight at seven."

"So you come home four hours early to get ready?" Roxas asked, flopping down on the love seat, "Exactly whose wearing the pants in your relationship?"

Hayner threw the remote at Roxas head.

"So I have something to run by you really quickly…" Roxas said as he dodged the clunky device.

* * *

Roxas had barely gotten out of the shower when he heard the doorbell begin to ring-- repeatedly. Roxas ran down the stairs, hair still dripping wet, and with his clothes thrown on so hastily, his shirt was practically hanging off his shoulder.

He unlocked the door and swung it open, not bothering to hide the anger on his face.

"You're early," Roxas growled up at the red-head, and making his way to the bathroom downstairs to finish drying his hair.

Axel stepped in and Roxas heard the door shut close as he entered the bathroom and turned the light on.

"Seeing as how I'm so impossibly crippled these days," Axel began from the other room, "I wanted to make sure that if something happened, I'd be still be able to make it on time."

"It's 11:30," Roxas said, fixing his shirt and shaking all the water out of his hair, "What the hell did you expect to run into?"

"You never know in today's world," Axel replied.

Roxas frowned as he noticed water droplets falling onto his shirt, so he took it off and set it on the counter beside the sink before resuming his hair endeavor.

"Just sit still and don't break anything," Roxas said, running his hands through his hair with a fervor. Both he and Sora had been born with hair that seemed to spike on its own. Even being soaked in water couldn't keep their spikes from standing.

Roxas leaned over the sink shook his hair again.

"This is almost as good as an episode of Bay Watch."

Roxas almost leapt out of his skin as he stood straight up and saw Axel standing at the door of the bathroom.

"I told you to sit still," Roxas said, reaching behind him to grab a face towel from the towel rack.

"It's no fun over there."

"Why are you so annoying?" Roxas asked, drying the last of his hair. He could still feel Axel's eyes on him.

"You just got out of the shower," Axel began, "And your hair is still spiked? How much gel do you use?"

Roxas scoffed.

"My hair just does this on its own," he said, "I have to use gel just to keep it _down_. Like you're one to talk anyway."

Roxas' eyes lingered on Axel's own massive spikes.

"Yes, but it falls quite limp when I take a shower," Axel said, leaning against the door.

"Do you mind?" Roxas asked, glaring at Axel, whose eyes were _not_ on Roxas' face.

"Not at all," Axel replied.

Roxas rolled his eyes before walking over to slam the door in Axel's face before locking it.

"Just sit on the couch and wait," Roxas snapped, "If you get bored, its your fault for coming so early."

Roxas heard Axel's footsteps as he left.

Not trusting Axel out in his home for too long, Roxas finished up quickly and put his shirt on before exiting the restroom. He entered the living room to see Axel sitting calmly on his couch.

"Well would you look at that," Roxas began, "You actually listened."

Axel said nothing-- only smiled up at Roxas. Smiled a little too widely. Roxas carefully examined the room.

"What did you do?"

"I'm kinda hungry now," Axel said, standing up, "Can we leave?"

Roxas glared, not quite sure that he even wanted to know what Axel had done.

"Fine," Roxas replied, "Oh-- I'm not paying for you."

* * *

Roxas arrived at the usual spot with Axel after a long car ride of Axel constantly trying to touch him, which left the red head with his fair share of bruises by the time they entered the cozy little restaurant. Behind the front counter where customers were lined up, Roxas caught the eye of the manager and waved.

Axel gazed around as Roxas led him to the outside deck of the restaurant, where he usually ate with Hayner, Pence, and Olette. It was somewhat deserted that day; there was only one other customer eating outside.

"Homey little place," Axel commented as they took their seats across from one another at one of the many empty circular wooden tables.

Roxas pulled out his cell phone and saw that it was now a little past the midday.

"I've been coming here since junior high," Roxas said, and smiled when his eyes fell upon three figures navigating there way through the other tables towards them, "with these three."

Axel turned around and saw as Hayner, Pence, and Olette walked towards them, grabbing a chair to sit down at the table as they did.

"I hope you don't mind if they join us today," Roxas said, not bothering to disguise the smug smile playing on his lips.

Axel only returned the gesture.

"Not at all."

"Hey guys," Pence said once they'd all settled themselves in.

Roxas nodded stiffly and Axel waved.

"Axel," Hayner greeted, "You've been missed at the club. Where have you been?"

"Off my feet," Axel responded, "My ribs have been broken for a little over a week."

"Ouch," Hayner hissed.

"Are you alright?" Olette inquired, "Should you be up and about like this?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Axel waved, "I have Roxie helping me out in my time of need."

Hayner furrowed his eyebrows a bit.

"Is that why you've been spending so much time with him lately?" he asked Roxas.

"Well it's certainly not because I enjoy his company," Roxas said.

"Hey-"

"Then why are you helping him?" Pence asked.

Roxas rolled his eyes.

"It's a boring story," he said, "But essentially, it's my fault his ribs are broken."

"It's _not_ a boring story," Axel jumped in, "If you include your being drunk beyond recognition that night."

"But we won't," Roxas talked over Axel, "So it is. How was you guys' class today? Biology isn't it?"

Hayner, Pence, and Olette were all taking classes at Twilight Town Community College, and biology was the one class they all had together.

"Boring as usual," Hayner answered.

"Yeah," Pence added, "Just going over things that will never come up in human life again."

"But isn't that the true point in college?" Axel suggested, "To waste your time while squeezing all the money out of you?"

"Aren't you a college professor?" Roxas asked incredulously.

"So we're in agreement!" Hayner said excitedly to Axel's assertion, as though finding a long lost comrade.

"Look," Roxas cut in, "Could we just eat and go? You guys can save the government conspiracy thoughts for happy hour next week."

"Why are you always in such a sour mood when Axel's around, Roxas?" Olette inquired.

"I can only tolerate psychosis for so long," Roxas said, "If you guys are ready to order, I'll go up to the counter-"

"No," Pence said, "Let us go instead. You always go to order."

Roxas laughed.

"So it's a tradition then," he said, "No seriously, it's no sweat. I have to use the bathroom anyway. The usual?"

Hayner, Pence, and Olette all nodded, but Axel only stared blankly.

"I don't have a usual Roxie," he said, a broad smirk beginning to grace his lips, "I guess you'll have to take me with you."

"What!" Roxas said, standing up, "A cripple like you would only slow me down."

Axel sat back in his chair.

"We can argue about it," he said, "But I think we both know how things are going to wind up."

Roxas massaged the bridge of his nose.

"You go look at the menu and stand in line," Roxas said, and Axel gleefully stood up, "I'm going to the restroom. I'll meet you in a minute. _Don't_ do anything crazy."

Roxas knew it was like trying to tell a baby not to cry, but felt he had to say it anyway.

Axel followed Roxas indoors and they split when Roxas headed for the bathrooms, and Axel went to go look at the giant menus behind the registers.

The men's bathroom was isolated, and when that happened, Roxas always took the handicap stall. It was an inexplicable preference he had.

Sitting only on a full bladder, it wasn't long at all before Roxas was in front of the mirror above the sink, washing his hands. His heart almost stopped altogether, however, when the bathroom door suddenly burst open hard enough to slam loudly against the wall behind it.

"ROXIE!"

Roxas turned his head sharply to see Axel walking towards him.

"What the hell!" Roxas said, taking his now clean hands from the sink, "I told you to wait in line for me!"

"But you were taking so long…"

"It hasn't even been _two minutes_," Roxas argued angrily, "I hope the line isn't ridiculous now."

Roxas shook his hands dry and began to walk briskly towards the door, but suddenly felt himself caught by the inside of his elbow. In a whirl of motions he couldn't even register, he suddenly felt himself thrust against some hard surface.

His eyes shot wide open in shock to see Axel's face hovering closely above his own. And the fact that stunningly green eyes were piercing through him didn't exactly give him time to recover.

Roxas then felt a hand rest against his side and snapped back to reality.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Roxas demanded, reflexively moving to sock Axel, but realized that his hands were bound above his head by Axel's other hand.

"What do you mean?" Axel asked innocently, slipping his hand underneath his shirt, earning a loud gasp of surprise from Roxas.

"Get your fucking hand, out of my shirt, and let me go."

Axel began caressing and exploring the expanse of reasonably defined skin, and through the blaring anger, Roxas noted that Axel's hands were warm-- hot he'd even call it. Roxas' mind was betraying him with defiant thoughts.

Roxas closed his eyes and tried to calm down.

To little avail.

When Axel made no sort of response, other than his continued ministrations, Roxas spoke again.

"I told you to let me go," Roxas snarled.

Roxas heard Axel chuckle.

"I already have."

* * *

**Lol. Anyhow, update info is always available on my profile-- the next due dates and if any delays will occur. Please leave a review on your way out. Sry about the now uncoordinated chapter in relation to the chapter title, but i wanted to make sure u guys would get the alert.  
**


	11. XI

**So, I woke up this morning and was like-- HOLY SHIT! AXIS WAS DUE!! So I cracked open the top to finish this. Lol. I havent even LOOKED at this thing since… oi.. Wat was it? The second? Pft. Too long. Sooo here it is. Lol. Bare…bear? Bayer with the dullness of this chapter, and forgive the dullness of the previous. Im looking over the outline, and it should rly take off next chapter. Thx for all ur support!**

**Also, these reviews you ppl are leaving are like double edge swords! Some of you are predicting what im going to do to a T, and it makes me anxious, some of you are way off, and it makes me laugh, and a lot of you have it half right. The question is, who is who?**

* * *

Roxas' eyes widened at Axel's words and his head shot to the side to notice that Axel's hand, the one that had been previously restraining him, was now resting at his side, not touching him at all. It was also at this point that Roxas noticed he was up against a stall.

His eyes returned to Axel's in utter embarrassment.

"I don't see you making me move," Axel smirked with unbridled smugness lacing every syllable.

The two of them suddenly heard the door open and the noise served to fully return Roxas to his senses. He brought his arms down and violently shoved Axel off of him.

Axel grunted and held his side as Roxas escaped from his loom and looked to see who had entered.

"Don't tell me I interrupted," Hayner laughed as Roxas fixed his shirt.

"Not at all," Roxas said, shooting a glare at Axel, "You saved me actually. I'm going to go order now, that maniac can starve for all I care."

With that Roxas quickly rushed out of the bathroom.

_Ow._

Axel heard as the bathroom door slammed loudly and he turned around slowly, still holding on to his throbbing ribs, to see Hayner standing there with his arms folded.

"Hey," Axel said, regaining his ability to stand up straight.

"What the hell was that?" Hayner demanded.

Axel smiled down.

"Wasn't it obvious?" he said, running a hand through his spikes, "I just got rejected." _Again._

"Leave Roxas alone, Axel," Hayner said, "He's got a good life going for him, and he doesn't need a hurricane like you coming in and destroying it."

"I don't intend on destroying Roxas' life," Axel said.

"He's straight," Hayner went on, "And he's got a girlfriend, he's had that girlfriend the last two years. So back off."

"Do you have so little faith in your 'best' friend?" Axel asked, walking towards the door, "That you have to come and make threats to me? I'm just the temptation, it's Roxas' choice whether or not he wants to give in. As for his girlfriend, it seems like I'd be doing him a favor in getting rid of her for him."

Axel paused at the door and smiled at Hayner.

"I'm serious, Axel," Hayner said, "I know how you are."

"You're one of many."

With that, Axel walked out of the room. He saw that Roxas was at the front counter, in the middle of ordering. Had he gone too far earlier? He wondered idly as his eyes lingered on the blonde. Then he suddenly broke out into a smile. One of the rare, real smiles he gave.

Axel went to sit with the other two when Hayner came out of the restroom, but before they could properly get their butts in their chairs, Roxas came up behind him.

"I'm going," he announced, causing an unharmonious melody of inquiries among his friends.

Axel didn't miss the sideways glare Roxas just shot at him.

"I'm suddenly not in the mood."

"Are you alright?" Olette asked, "You look kinda flushed. Are you running a fever?"

"I'm fine," Roxas said, "I ordered your food, so it should be on the way."

Axel had to restrain a laugh as he stood back up.

"Then let's go," he said.

Roxas scoffed.

"Didn't you want to eat lunch?" Roxas demanded.

"I wanted to eat lunch with _you_," Axel corrected.

"Well I'm not eating lunch today," Roxas said, "I'm going home, and I'm locking the door behind me."

"So I have to starve today?!" Axel demanded.

"You can always make your own lunch," Roxas offered, "or stay here and get a ride back with Hayner."

Axel looked over at Hayner, who was looking back warningly.

"You're so mean Roxie…"

"Roxas," Olette said as they began to walk off, "Try and get some rest."

Pence and Hayner waved goodbyes and Roxas and Axel made their way back into Roxas' car. When Roxas' settled into Roxas' car he noted, like he always did, the immaculate manner it which it always seemed to be kept. Not just the ordinary clutter-free clean-- it was as though Roxas had just drove the car off the lot every time.

As the blonde wordlessly revved the engine and began towards the apartments, Axel noted the unmistakable tension in the boy. Most of the car ride was spent in silence, but when they had pulled in to Roxas' parking space, Axel turned to the boy.

"I'm sorry," he began, "for earlier. If I went too far.

All he heard was a scoff as Roxas unlocked the doors and got out. Axel followed suit and Roxas turned the car's alarm on before they started back towards their apartments.

"You're not sorry," Roxas said, a bit late, "You're apologizing out of routine and what you some sort of felt obligation. You think it's what I want out of you."

Axel listened silently.

"I don't want an apology," Roxas continued, "A real one or otherwise. Because a fake apology is just an insult to whoever you're apologizing to, and a real apology wouldn't mean anything to me because I don't give a damn about you."

"Strong words, Roxie," Axel responded once they reached the court yard.

Up until that point, they had been walking at a relatively quick pace, set by Roxas, but once they were just feet away from Roxas' apartment door, the boy suddenly froze and rounded on Axel.

The intensity in the boy's eyes almost caused Axel to recoil.

"How the fuck did anyone fall in love with you?" Roxas spat, "You're a mindless moron-- or at least you act like one-- and you never show your real self. You hide behind those smiles and charms of yours. I don't know who you really are, and I really don't care. But you keep saying you're gonna somehow get me in bed with you, and that I'm gonna somehow fall in love with you. How do you plan on making that happen when you don't show who you really are? I don't sleep with lies, and I certainly don't fall in love with them."

Axel stared down in mild shock as the boy rounded back again and made the rest of the way to his door before sticking in his key and going in, slamming it shut.

Falling in love was such a strange anomaly to Axel. He'd never even had so much as a crush on someone-- only physical lust. And he hadn't necessarily set out to make Roxas fall in _love_ with him, but it seemed like the only way the boy would give it up.

Axel sighed at the difficulty and stubborness Roxas was showing and made his way to his own apartment.

* * *

Roxas was laid out on his couch the Thursday after that, listening to the ringing in his ears.

"Roxas?"

"Hey," Roxas replied.

"So you _do_ know how to use a phone," Namine laughed, "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me."

"How could anyone?"

"As sweet as ever," she said, "So to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"We haven't spoken in a week," Roxas said, "Maybe more. Just checking up."

"Aww, Roxas you're so-- Hey! Don't put that there! Over in the corner!"

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Namine?"

"Sorry Roxas," she said, "we have people bringing in some new furniture to the summer house my parents just bought here. And if they don't be careful-- you're gonna break it!"

Roxas laughed, feeling nothing but sympathy for the movers.

"So how's Pluto?" Namine asked, "Have you been taking care of him?"

"Yeah," Roxas said, "He's fine. Lonely at times though. I'd bring him to my apartment if pets were allowed."

"Why don't you just stay in my house while we're gone?" Namine suggested, "Heeyyy! That cost more than you'll ever make!"

"Well I can hear that you're pretty busy," Roxas said, "call me when you're free."

"No, wait, I can-- I said _that _corner!"

"Bye Namine."

"Later Roxas," she resigned.

Roxas hung up and stuck his cell phone in his jean pockets before standing up to stretch.

It was Thursday. Meaning it was the day for Axel's follow up appointment about his ribs. From what Roxas had noticed, Axel hadn't been taking any cautionary measures to insure a speedy recovery-- or any recovery-- but he still needed his check up.

Roxas hadn't spoken to Axel since the other day, when he'd snapped. Now that he'd had time to think about it, maybe going off on Axel wasn't the wisest of decisions. He'd told the redhead that he didn't care what he did, but if that were true, he wouldn't have such strong reactions to his stupidity.

Roxas grabbed his car keys and left out. Hayner was upstairs sleeping. It was 10 in the morning on a week day after all. Roxas crossed the short distance form his apartment door to Axel's before knocking loudly on it.

Before Roxas' knuckles could hit the door the second time, it flew open, revealing a sight that took Roxas aback. Axel without any spikes in that vibrant red hair. Roxas' eyes threatened to pop right out as wide as they opened at the sight. It almost overshadowed the fact that Axel was adorned in nothing but a towel with a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth.

At the sight of Roxas, a broad grin stretched across his face. He leaned his head outside of the door a little bit and spit into one of the nearby plants. Roxas tuned his face at the crudeness.

"Roxie," Axel said, "What a pleasant surprise."

"Get dressed," Roxas said, snapping out of his reverie, "You have an appointment today."

Axel scratched his head lazily and leaned up against the door frame.

"What?"

Roxas sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I told you last week," he said, "You have a follow up appointment today about your ribs."

Axel smirked and leaned in a little closer to Roxas.

"Are you sure that's the kind of appointment you wanna take me to?" Axel whispered suggestively.

Roxas used his palm to shove Axel back into his apartment.

"If you're not ready in 20 minutes," Roxas said, "I'll have to assume your ribs are no longer broken, and then you won't have any reason to bother me any more."

"Alright alright" Axel said, before stepping back into his house, "Come in and take a seat. Or don't. It's your choice."

Roxas took a glance inside the apartment-- or what once _was_ an apartment. The place was in utter disarray. Clothes strewn all over the place, shattered pieces of glass and ceramics, Roxas briefly wondered what had happened to it.

"I'll wait out here."

* * *

They were in Roxas' car, nearly at the hospital, and it was eerily silent. Axel had been behaving strangely all day, Roxas noticed, and it was freaking the blonde out. Axel was being calm. Normal almost.

And that was just weird.

It was silence that was building up unreleased tension in Roxas that was making the car ride so unbearable. Just a few more blocks to the hospital…

"My mom was a drunk," Axel suddenly said, "My mom _is_ a drunk. When I was two my dad walked out on us. My mom was pregnant with my sister at that time, and only 18. She had no job. No education, because she dropped out of high school to marry him and give birth to me, and was now stuck with one kid and another on the way. Her parents had kicked her out when she dropped out of school, so she had nowhere to go.

"She found a job though, in a motel, as a maid, and worked for room, board, and little else. When she finally gave birth to my sister, it was just the three of us in that room for years. My mom probably could have gotten promoted, if she hadn't started taking down like 12 bottles of vodka a day."

Roxas listened with confusion to Axel's tale, as he kept on towards the hospital.

"So for 10 years we stayed there. Since my mom did virtually nothing at that point, but what was needed to stay in the motel. Me and my sister had become self sufficient. I took care of her like she was a daughter more than a sister. It was really just us against the world.

"I picked her up from school every day, right after I got out of my own classes. One day though, she got out early, and instead of waiting for me, she had the school contact our mom to come and pick her up. Like always, however, she was drunk. She went to pick my sister up, but…"

There was a brief pause as Roxas pulled into the hospital parking lot.

"A bus crashed into the little car we had. At 40 miles an hour straight into the passengers side. My mom escaped with only mild injuries, but my sister… suffered severe brain damage. She was 10.

"Since it was a municipal bus that hit us, we were given a pretty hefty sum as reparations. My mom and I were able to move out of the motel and into a very small house while my sister… was moved into a permanent facility to care to the mentally disabled. She's been there for the last eleven years."

The car's engine was off now, and Roxas was still trying to soak all the information in.

"Guess we can't all grow up with the perfect family, mom, dad, two kids, and a dog."

"Why… are you telling me this?" Roxas asked.

Axel got out of the car.

"You said that you wouldn't sleep with a lie right?" he said, "Well all my cards are on the table now, Roxie. I grew up in a pretty loveless environment for the most part, so I don't think I really know how to love-- or make you love me."

He closed the door and made his way to the hospital entrance, leaving a very baffled blonde behind the wheel. Axel had just spilt out his guts, and his whole life story, _just_ to get in bed with him? Roxas didn't know what to make of that.

He sat back in the car though, and waited patiently for Axel to come back out.

* * *

Roxas was started awake by a loud slamming sound on his right. Automatically his eyes snapped to the clock in his car, but it was blank, indicating that the car was off.

"Morning sunshine," Axel smiled.

"What time is it?" Roxas asked, wiping his eyes to full awareness.

"It's almost noon," Axel said, "And by the way, you left the door unlocked while you slept. That's really irresponsible of you Roxie."

"What did they say about your ribs?" Roxas asked, now spotting the manila envelope carrying what Roxas assumed were the x-rays. "May I?"

Axel shrugged and handed Roxas the envelope before getting into the car and settling himself in.

Roxas took out the dark transparencies and held it to the light, then did a double take.

"Are these-- you sure these are yours?" Roxas demanded, scrutinizing the images through the sun light beaming through his windshield.

Axel laughed.

"That's what your dad said too."

"They're almost completely healed!" Roxas gasped disbelievingly. "It hasn't even been two whole weeks!"

Axel yawned.

"I've always been a quick healer," the redhead informed.

Roxas kept staring at the x-rays, hardly able to believe that someone could heal _that_ quickly.

"Neat trick," he said, tucking the scans in their envelopes, tossing them back to the redhead, and starting the car.

Once they were well on the road (nearly back at Twilight Townhouses), Roxas glanced over at the redhead. He was still being quiet. He was still keeping his hands to himself. And his eyes were focused steadfastly on whatever was in his line of vision.

"My dad left my mom and my brother too," Roxas suddenly said, wondering if he should really be going this route, "Before our first birthday. Mom was 20, and she didn't have anyone to go to but our uncle. He took us in even though he was hardly making ends meet himself at the time.

"My mom got a job at some fast food joint, and that's where she met Aulderman. It was a year later that they were married, and Aulderman raised Sora and me as his own. I guess that's where our stories really begin to differ, So I don't know about the picture perfect image you have of us. We were slung with the same issue as you-- a deadbeat dad. My mom was lucky enough to find someone who would love and take care of her and her sons."

Roxas stole another glance to see Axel's eyes now fixated on him.

"And on that last note," Roxas went on, "Everyone knows how to love. It's built-in human instinct. Sometimes it just takes the right person though to make it happen. We're here."

Roxas got out of the car and waited for Axel to get out as well before he set the alarm.

They walked in silence to the courtyard and Roxas made his way to his apartment door, and was half way through it.

"ROXIE!!" he suddenly heard Axel's voice call.

Roxas jumped out of shock before turning around angrily.

"WHAT!?" he exclaimed, "I am _right. Here._"

"Let's go to Radiant Garden tomorrow!"

Roxas squinted his eyes incredulously.

"No," he said, "Your ribs aren't healed yet. And when they are, I won't have to spend any more time with you."

"Aww, c'mon."

"Good bye." Roxas said, entering his apartment slamming the door behind him.

Roxas locked the door behind him and ignored the wailing of that redheaded lunatic as he kicked off his shoes and made his way upstairs. The day was still young, but his itinerary was completely clear. That gave him time to think, and normally, that would be no big deal for Roxas. Ever since yesterday, however, Roxas' thoughts had been betraying him as the feeling of Axel's fingers against his stomach burned across his skin every time he thought about him.

It was unsettling, and Roxas had to do something about it.

Soon.

* * *

BAM BAM BAM BAM!

"ROXIE!!"

BAM BAM BAM BAM!!

Roxas sat bolt right up in his bed before rushing down the stairs.

"ROXIE!"

BAM BAM BA-

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM!?"

"Hi, I ju-- OW OUCH!"

Roxas smacked, socked, and punched Axel wherever he could.

"Do you have any idea what time it is you lunatic?!" Roxas screeched.

Axel looked down at his watch.

"6:58."

"What the hell has possessed you to think it's ok for you to come slamming on my door at seven in the morning?!"

"I wanted to go to Radiant Garden."

Roxas stared up at Axel blankly.

"There is no theme park open this early."

"Yeah yeah I know," Axel said, "But by the time we get there, it'll be eight, and they'll already be open."

"Bye."

"C'mon Roxie," Axel said, "We both already know how this is going to end."

Roxas inwardly sighed at the truth of Axel's words.

"Oh," Axel went on, "and while I'm perfectly fine with your choice in attire, I don't think the park officials will let you in in just your boxers."

"Die."

* * *

"What are you doing? Why are you stopping here? Radiant Garden is another half hour away."

Roxas pulled up into the small parking lot of a local park in his car and found a spot before shifting the gear to park.

"Miraculous speed or not," Roxas began, "Your ribs still aren't healed. So you'll have to settle for a regular park."

Axel looked through the front window of the car at the lush green scenery before him, with a sand box and several other facilities off in the distance. The park was pretty ritzy, as far as parks went. The only thing that seemed to be missing from it was people. There were only two or three he could see over the wide terrace.

"I can see it gets pretty crowded here," Axel remarked sarcastically as they made their way out of the car.

"Yeah," Roxas said, turning his alarm on with his remote, "a quarter to nine on Friday mornings is the peak of its activity."

They crossed over the small curb that separated the parking lot from the actual park and began walking along the paved sidewalk around the parks perimeter.

"So what's the plan Roxie?" Axel asked excitedly.

"There is no plan," Roxas said, "You wanted to go to a theme park. I vetoed it down to a regular park. Sit down right there. You shouldn't be on your feet for too long."

Roxas pointed to a bench they came across and Axel promptly obeyed.

"So you bring us to some isolated community park over the thrilling fast paced and populated Radiant Garden?" Axel asked, noting that Roxas chose to stay on his feet.

"You can go to Radiant Garden after you can bend over to your right again," Roxas informed.

"I can bend over every other way," Axel informed Roxas with a sly look on his face, to which the blonde promptly smacked the redheaded man upside his head.

"You're so abusive…" Axel cried in mock pain.

Then Axel heard footsteps coming from somewhere and looked to his left to see a pair of girls heading right towards them. One was a giant-- probably as tall as Axel was himself, but she was statuesque and built like a model. The other one was short-- even shorter than Roxas. She was cute-- kind of like the girl next door.

They both stopped just a few feet shy of Roxas.

The short one, with light brown hair, refused to meet Roxas' eye, while the tall one, sporting bleached blonde hair with dark roots, kept shooting unmistakably seductive glances Axel's way. Judging from their attire, Axel discerned that they had been out on their morning jog or something.

"Good morning, Roxas," the short one said quietly, "It's been a long time."

Axel looked at Roxas' face to try and get an idea of what was going through his mind. From the blank look gracing his features, Axel doubted that it had been too long a time for Roxas to remember the girl. Then suddenly an expression of realization dawned upon his face.

"Selphie!?" Roxas breathed, "wow, y-yeah, it _has _been a long time. How've you been?"

The girl named Selphie smiled sheepishly.

"Fine. You remember Olivia," she said, and gestured towards the tall girl.

"Nice to see you again."

Axel peered at the reunion through narrowed eyes. Besides trying politely to avoid Olivia's gazes, he was trying to determine what expression that Selphie girl had on. She was looking at Roxas oddly. If Axel had to guess…

Longingly.

It irritated Axel.

"Whose your friend?" Olivia asked in her deep, yet feminine voice.

"Axel," Axel responded before Roxas could, and stood up before giving a slight bow, "Pleased to meet you both."

Axel didn't miss the way Roxas rolled his eyes.

"This is Selphie," Roxas said, "And Olivia. Old friends from high school. Selphie was my first girlfriend."

Axel felt a sharp pang of some sort go through some part of his body which triggered some emotion he didn't know. He had to work to keep the smile on his face.

"Ooh," Axel said, "And old flame, eh?"

"Please ignore whatever this man says," Roxas laughed to the girls, "He's a complete moron."

"So I heard Namine's got you on a pretty short leash," Olivia said, "How did you find time to yourself today."

Axel had to bite his tongue to keep from bursting into laughter.

Roxas smiled tightly.

"Glad you've retained your charm, Olivia," Roxas laughed mirthlessly.

"She's been that way since high school. The only way you'd get a second out of her clutches," Olivia said, "Is if you two broke up."

Selphie's head suddenly snapped up towards Olivia, then to Roxas.

"Did you?" she asked.

Roxas smiled wryly.

"She's vacationing on the Destiny Islands," Roxas said, "And we're still going strong, thanks."

Roxas' girlfriend wasn't exactly Axel's favorite topic, and judging from the look in Selphie's eyes, it wasn't hers either.

"Well we were just jogging," Selphie went on, "Our daily route. I saw you and thought we should just say 'hi'. Hi."

Roxas chuckled.

"Hey."

Axel folded his arms, watching the scene silently again. Roxas was smiling again. One of his few and far between real smiles. That same emotion from earlier shot through him.

Axel watched in silence as the girls talked, trying to identify the emotion. It was only seconds before they were saying their goodbyes did Axel finally place it.

Jealousy.

He was getting _jealous _over Roxas.

Axel could hardly fathom it. He'd never been jealous before in his life-- at least not in romantic affairs.

The girls waved to Roxas, smiling, and continuing on their trail, and Roxas returned the gestures. When the boy turned back to face Axel, and those vibrantly cerulean eyes gazed up at him, devoid of their usual scowl, Axel knew in that instant that Roxas wasn't the same. He wasn't a passing phase that sex could cure.

He was actually falling for the brat.

_Shit._

* * *

**HA! HAHAHAHA! DONE! Im done! This chapter will plague me no longer!! MY there was a LOT of scene hopping. just look at all the dividers. mm-mm-mm.  
**

**OH, and hey, im looking for a new beta reader, so if you think you're up for the job, lemme know in a review. :3**


	12. XII

**Ahem, needless to say, this story is very. Very. Very. Very overdue.**

**For that I apologize.**

**Sry.**

* * *

Roxas stared at the backs of Selphie and Olivia as they walked off before redirecting his eyesight back to Axel.

"What?" Roxas demanded when he saw the look on the redhead's face.

Axel waved the question off and flopped back down on the park bench.

"What?!" Roxas repeated.

Axel looked up at Roxas like he was dumb.

"Don't tell me you didn't notice the way she was looking at you," Axel said, adjusting himself on the bench, "If you missed that, it was kinda hard to miss the trail of drool she left behind her."

"She was not looking at me any sort of way," Roxas argued. "We broke up over two years ago."

"Uh huh," Axel said, "And was it you or her who ended it?"

"What does that even matter?"

"Exactly."

"Won't you just go shrivel in a corner already?"

"So now what do we do?" Axel asked,　nonplussed "We have the whole… next 5 hours ahead of us."

Roxas raised a brow curiously.

"You have somewhere you need to be?" he asked.

"I do as a matter of fact," Axel replied, "I do have a life outside of you, you know?"

"If you were around less often," Roxas grumbled, "maybe I would."

* * *

"Why are you following me?" Roxas demanded, walking up to his door and unlocking it, "This is _my_ apartment. Yours is right that way. Over there."

"But _you're _over _here_," Axel explained, "In your apartment."

"Weren't the last three hours at the park enough?" Roxas asked, swinging his door open, only to be greeted with a loud call of his name.

"ROXXAASSS!!"

Roxas' eyes barely had time to catch the blur of brown that sped at him before he felt himself caught in a tight embrace around his neck. But he was released almost as suddenly as he had been seized.

"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting here for you to come back?"

Roxas' eyes were on level with a pair of equally blue eyes staring at him in a mixture of irritation and excitement.

"Surprise visitors don't have the right to be angry," Roxas told his brother before looking over to the couch to see a silver haired man resting there.

"We haven't seen each other in almost two months and this is the greeting you give me?" Sora scoffed, backing away from Roxas altogether, "I'll just stay on the Destiny Islands next time."

Roxas laughed and hooked his arm around Sora's neck before noogying him.

"I was just joking, Sora," Roxas chuckled, before Sora quickly slid from his grasp in an outrage and began rearranging his spikes.

"Hey!" he yelled, "Watch the hair!"

"It's kinda hard not to," Roxas said and waved over to the man on his couch, "Riku. Nice to see you again."

Riku gave a stiff nod and went about ignoring the rest of the party. It was only when a loud throat-clearing was heard behind him did Roxas remembered his uninvited company.

He turned around to see Axel towering over him, then turned back to Sora.

"Sora, this is the maniac who lives next door," Roxas said, "Maniac who lives next door, this is Sora."

"Hello Maniac Who Lives Next Door," Sora smiled as he reached past Roxas to take Axel's hand.

"My name is Axel," Axel corrected, smiling in complete nonchalance to Roxas' hostility, "Nice to meet you. Sora, I've heard so much about you."

Sora frowned at Roxas.

"Is that so?" he asked, "Well I've never heard of you."

"Yeah, Roxie is rude like that-"

"The only reason he knows about you," Roxas cut over Axel, "Is because he's a stalker and an eavesdropper."

"Don't you think that's going a bit too far?" Axel asked as Roxas and Sora made their way back to the couches.

"I think it's eerily accurate," Hayner's voice came as he marched loudly down the stairs, "What's up Axel?"

"Hayner?" Roxas inquired in surprise as he and Sora took seats on the love seat, "Do you know that's its almost 11? A.M.? What are you doing up?"

"Ha. Ha." Hayner mock-laughed as he reached Axel at the bottom of the stair case, "You should look into stand up comedy Roxas."

"I know," Roxas said nonplussed, "But seriously, what's got you up so early? You never rise before 12 when you don't have class."

Axel made his way to sit down on the couch, as far away from Riku as possible, Roxas noticed.

"I'm going out," Hayner said, making his way towards the kitchen area.

"You've got a date this early?" Sora inquired?

"Yep." Hayner called from the kitchen.

"He's got this girl he's been seeing," Roxas told Sora, "They go out almost every day, and he hasn't stayed at any floozies' house since he started seeing her."

"Wow," Sora said in surprise, "Someone has tamed _that_ playboy?"

"Seems like it," Roxas said.

"I'd love to meet her," Sora said.

"You and me both."

Then Sora suddenly turned his attention towards Axel.

"So, Axel," he began, "How do you know Roxas?"

"He came to the bar I work at one day and got raving drunk--"

"Hayner took me on one of his girl wrangling sprees," Roxas corrected.

"I can still hear you," Hayner called from the other room.

"And unfortunately this maniac was on shift," Roxas went on, "And I haven't been able to shake him off ever since. I found out the next day he was subbing in my physics class."

"You don't say," Sora said, making himself comfortable on the couch and eyeing Axel, "sounds like fate was dropping a hint."

"I'll say," Roxas sighed, "So why are you in town? I thought we'd gotten rid of you at least until Christmas."

"You wish," Sora laughed, "Or at least mom and dad do. I'm looking forward to seeing their faces when I show up for dinner tonight. At seven."

"That makes two of us," Roxas agreed, then shot Riku a quick glance. A quick glance that Sora didn't miss.

"No, I don't plan on bringing him to the dinner," Sora assured, "I'm not looking to start a fight. Riku's going to be at Kairi's. That's where we're staying."

"Oh, so she already knew you were coming?"

"No."

Roxas laughed.

"So you're just going to show up…" Roxas said, "Where're your bags?"

"In Riku's car," Sora said, "The trip up here was a cramped one because of the tiny space in this trust fund kid's corvette."

"How _do_ you put up with it?" Roxas rolled his eyes.

Roxas never really stared at Riku for long, ever since that time five years ago, every time he did look at the silver haired boy, he was always wearing the same unrevealing expression that made him wonder how anyone, especially Sora and his bouncy personality, could be attracted to him. Even Axel hadn't tried talking to him.

"Trust fund," Axel's voice cut through Roxas' thoughts, "You sure know how to keep good company, Roxie. Isn't your slave driver a trust fund baby too?"

Roxas reached for the first available object, a small porcelain statue of an elephant, he could before throwing it straight at Axel's head. Sora gasped and Riku's eyes snapped onto Roxas in surprise.

"When you forcibly impose yourself on another, its common manners to stop trying to irritate them as well," Roxas frowned, "Now shut up, or get out."

Axel rubbed his head and set the statue on the coffee table.

"You're so mean," Axel sniffed, "Wasn't breaking two of my ribs enough for you?"

"You broke his ribs?!" Sora demanded.

"_I_ didn't do it personally," Roxas said, "It was just--"

"You _hired_ someone to break his ribs?!"

"No!" Roxas exclaimed, "I don't even know why I'm explaining this to you-" he turned to Axel- "And I don't even know why you're still here. Didn't you say you had something to do?"

"That's not for another hour," Axel said with a waving gesture, "I still have time."

"You are beyond aggravating," Roxas grumbled.

"Riku, let's go say hi to Kairi now," Sora suggested, jumping to his feet.

"But we just--"

"Corvette's waiting!" Sora yelled eagerly, "Let's go! Roxas, I wanna talk to you later. Come to dinner at mom and dad's. We'll catch up."

Before Roxas could get another word in, Sora had disappeared out the front door and dragged Riku out with him, leaving Roxas and Axel alone again.

"You two really _do _look alike you know," Axel said once the door had shut.

With almost impeccable timing, Hayner surfaced from the kitchen and into the living room area, noticing its sudden emptiness.

"They left already," Hayner said in surprise, "they barely got here…"

"Well you know how it is," Roxas sighed, stretching and getting to his feet, "Corvettes and all."

Hayner couldn't have really been paying attention to what Roxas was saying, because if he had been, he would have been confused about it. Instead, however, he was fiddling with his collar and looking around the room for something.

"Your keys are on top of the TV," Roxas said, folding his arms smugly at his friend.

Hayner flushed a little and quickly crossed the room to retrieve his car keys before heading towards the door again. As he breezed by Roxas, both times the blue eyed blonde caught a whiff of whatever cologne he was wearing. Hayner was halfway out the door when Roxas beckoned after him.

"At least tell me her name," Roxas insisted.

Hayner threw Roxas a quick, sly look, but otherwise made no real response and continued on his way out the door.

"Best friends always drift a little when you throw a girl in the mix," Axel took the liberty of saying.

Roxas looked his way before beginning to idly pace the room. He needed to get some groceries for their meager kitchen cabinets. There were only so many Cup O Noodles left, and they probably wouldn't last until tomorrow. If he mentioned that to Axel, however, the redhead would probably only insist on accompanying him to the store.

Which Roxas simply wasn't in the mood for.

"I'm leaving," Roxas declared vaguely, "get out."

Axel threw Roxas a strange look before silently assenting to the request, which probably took Roxas more off guard then his uninvited companion.

"…Really?" Roxas asked with some skepticism. "Just like that?"

Axel got to his feet and nodded his head.

"Yeah."

Roxas frowned in slight disbelief, but deciding not to test his luck, hurriedly rushed to open the door for Axel, who strolled over with great ease and casualness.

He was standing in the middle of the doorframe, back to the blonde, when he suddenly turned around and pecked the boy on his cheek. Then quickly, before Roxas could register what had passed and make any violent reaction to it, he fled from the boy's presence towards his own apartment.

Roxas was too glad to be rid of Axel to bother going after him for his crime, and instead contented himself with wiping his cheek clean of the violation. He would already have to see that maniac in class the next day, and preferred not to extend the amount of time that was required with him.

Though in the back of his mind, Roxas had to acknowledge that the time they had spent earlier in the park wasn't so vile as he had imagined it to be, and when Axel felt like it, he could be just as enjoyable company as any other sane person.

But how often did Axel feel like that?

Roxas put all further thoughts of the redhead from his mind, however, and decided only to focus on his brothers home coming.

* * *

His trip to the grocery store earlier hadn't been as bad as he expected. Since it was Friday afternoon, and most people were at work, traffic wasn't bad and neither were lines. He was in an out in hardly any time.

With that, the rest of his day was spent in (mental) preparation for the very moment which now presented itself before Roxas: Dinner with his family.

It was the most natural thing in the world, Roxas thought, and yet even with that, he couldn't bring himself to the usual easiness by which the four of them usually dined. He stood outside of his parents house, on the porch in front of the door, trying to overcome his unfounded nerves and ring the doorbell.

Roxas must have been standing out there for minutes, like an idiot, and just as he was about to press his thumb to the small circular button, the door flew open and before him stood his brother, with a smug look on his face.

"I was waiting for like three minutes," Sora began, "to see if you would gather your balls and ring the doorbell yourself."

Roxas' anxiety soon morphed into indignation has he threw his brother a scowl.

"You're one to talk about misplaced balls," Roxas mirrored his brothers vulgarity and earned his own scowl.

Then Roxas' mother came up from behind Sora and exclaimed out in joy that he was there.

"Right on time," she said, ushering her boys out of the doorway.

"Seven o' clock," Roxas said, once inside the living room, and glanced at the clock, "Like always."

"Well come on," Felicity said excitedly, "the tables all set already, and your fathers waiting for you. I only wish Sora had told us a little beforehand that he would be back in town."

To this, Sora only gave a sheepish smile as their mother led them to the dining room, and left them while she went and retrieved the dishes she had prepared.

Aulderman stood up and received his newly arrived son warmly as the other one, who Roxas assumed had already been greeted, took his seat.

Once they were all seated, Felicity came out with dish after dish and laid a feast out before them.

Roxas looked in awe at the various servings of food before him, wondering when his mother had time to prepare all this, given the suddenness of her other son's arrival.

"This looks…" Roxas began, "extensive."

His mom laughed as she set the last dish (of mashed potatoes) down on the table and took her own seat up. She looked truly delighted that evening, more so than Roxas had seen her in a while, at least.

After dishes were served out, and they all began to eat, their dad began polite conversation.

"So how're things going over at the Destiny Islands?" Aulderman asked, "If I remember correctly, the oceans there look their best this time of year."

"They dazzle," Sora responded politely.

Roxas chewed his food in silence. There was enough tension in the room to feed a third world country, as was usually the case when Sora and their dad interacted.

Even before his coming out, Sora and Aulderman never quite saw eye to eye, as Aulderman always wanted certain things for Sora, and Sora always wanted other things for himself.

"Isn't Namine vacationing there," Felicity said merrily, blissfully unaware (or un-acknowledging) of the tension between her husband her and her son, "with her family? Did you happen to run into her?"

Sora gave his mom an endearing smile.

"I didn't," Sora reported happily, "my shoes weren't quite clean enough to walk down the street _she _was staying on."

He shot Roxas an underhanded glance, to which Roxas replied with a subtle glare.

"You sure are making things harder on yourself though," Aulderman expressed, "by waiting to take late start classes. You should have planned things a little better so you could relax a bit more with easy going classes."

Sora bore the criticism with a stiff nod and a silent smile.

"No point in dwelling in the past," Roxas offered in defense of his brother, because Sora would obviously not defend himself. "It won't change anything."

"But it can help you learn from your mistakes," Aulderman countered, then he redirected his attentions to Sora, "Don't let this happen again next semester."

Another stiff nod from his brother forced Roxas to keep his own tongue in check by shoving a huge fork load of baked chicken into his mouth.

They continued sharing polite pleasantries for a while, discussing the campus, the new sorts of people Sora met. What classes he planned on taking later this year. The usual.

Roxas sat in silence during all of this, watching the unnatural tension between a son and his parents as they searched for some topic to discuss that would result in a pleasant evening.

"So Roxas," Felicity said, just as happily as ever, "You and Namine have been going out for quite some time, when are you thinking of tying the knot?"

Both Sora and Roxas nearly choked on whatever they were chewing and looked at their mother wildly.

"Mom!" Roxas said indignantly, "Do you think you could let me out of college first? Before I start thinking of things like marriage? Maybe? Please?"

"I'm sorry," she said, looking a little concerned now as both her sons tried to catch their breaths again after nearly choking, "I just assumed, since you've been going out for nearly three years now-"

"It's closer to two, actually," Sora interjected, "If you're going to round."

"Don't interrupt your mother when she's talking," Aulderman frowned at Sora, who simply acquiesced with another nod.

It was apparent to Roxas that Sora just wanted to get through the night as smoothly as possible. It was almost a shock to Roxas, since Sora almost never succumbed to the slings and arrows Aulderman usually cast his way.

"I'm just eager for you to carry on the family name," Felicity said in a slightly more dejected tone, "since-"

And there she checked herself. It was not her silence, however, that betrayed her so much as it was the look to her brunet son that was cast almost imperceptibly.

Roxas didn't miss it, and one glance of his own over towards Sora showed clearly that he hadn't missed it either.

That had been it, Roxas judged, as Sora threw down his fork irritably. In his favor, Sora had held out a lot longer than usual.

"Since what, Mom?" Sora demanded angrily.

"Sora…" Aulderman warned in a dangerous tone.

Sora threw an angry glare his father's way.

"What's with that tone of voice?" he demanded, "Are you going to chastise me for speaking _your _thoughts too now?" he then turned back angrily to his mother. "Go ahead and finish your sentence, 'Since Sora the fag isn't going to be having any children of his own'."

"Sora!" Aulderman said, now angrily jumping to his feet, "You stop this instant. Don't speak to your mother that way!"

Sora turned, almost wildly, towards his father before recomposing himself and picking his fork back up.

"I'm sorry Mom," Sora said to his plate as he began to prod at his food, "Please forgive my outburst."

Aulderman, temporarily satisfied with that response, slowly sat back down and began forcefully prodding at his own food, Felicity mortified into silence.

Roxas, however, was very dissatisfied with how easily his brother gave up. Their mom was way out of line, as usual, and their dad was being unjust. If Sora wouldn't stick up for his self, then the job had to fall on Roxas' shoulders. He threw his fork down on his plate and stood up angrily.

"I'm tired of this same…_shit_!" Roxas exclaimed angrily. "I've sat here and watched it for the last 18 years and I won't do it anymore. Sora, grow enough determination to follow your arguments all the way through. Dad, don't be so blinded as to see that the only person at fault here could only be Sora. And Mom…"

Roxas threw his mom a look which did not disguise his clear disdain and shame for her carelessness.

He tried to ignore the looks of shock and indignation on almost all his family members faces.

"I'm sorry," Roxas continued, "all of you, I really am. But I've stood on the sidelines too long and watched you two constantly abuse Sora for doing what _he _wants to do and not what _you _want him to do. He usually stands up for himself, but for some reason, tonight…" he threw a wayward glance at his brother. "I'm leaving. I'll call you when I've settled down."

Roxas quickly fled the room, not allowing Sora's protests to keep him further. His parents had been to shocked by the outburst to do much else than stare. He didn't much feel like being in that atmosphere after so big a confession from him. It was something that he did on a whim, a whim which he could not trace, and no sooner had the words left his mouth had he regretted it.

Yet on some other level… there was such a sense of… _relief_.

Roxas got into his car and sped off towards his apartment, feeling a mixture of anxiety and exhilaration. Anxiety for how it would be received by his family, and exhilaration because he knew that such an outburst was long overdue.

As he drove home there was such adrenaline coursing through his blood that almost diverted his attention from the road. Luckily for him, however, rush hour was just passing and traffic was scarce. But Roxas was pumped, angered even, that his brother, whom he admired for his unwillingness to submit to anyone's will but his own, would sit there like that-- like some helpless lamb.

Just thinking about it got Roxas' blood boiling again.

He arrived in his gated community some ten minutes later and rushed angrily to his door, hoping that Hayner wouldn't be home to question his sour mood.

Roxas fumbled with his keys for a while before forcefully jamming it into the keyhole and unlocking his door. He snatched it out and slammed the door shut before reaching to turn on the light to his living room.

His anger was nearly shoved out of his system from the shock of seeing Axel sitting on his couch, silently snoozing. Anger soon flooding in again, though for an entirely new reason, Roxas locked the door and marched over to Axel loudly, so that the redhead started awake before the blonde had even fully reached him.

The mood he was in must have been written clearly across his face, for even Axel, who seemed to delight in causing Roxas distressed, looked taken aback by the expression he found.

"Roxie," Axel ventured warily, "What's the-"

"Why are you in my house?" Roxas demanded angrily, "_again_?"

"Hayner let me in a few hours-"

"Why are you _always _bothering me!" Roxas demanded.

"Roxie!" Axel exclaimed in pure shock.

"And why are you always calling me that!" Roxas yelled, and at the pinnacle of his anger, he swung his fist back to wail Axel in the face, at least that's what he had expected to do.

Axel, however, had other plans as he caught Roxas' oncoming fist, pulled it down by his side, and grabbed blonde's other arm to prevent him from swinging with that one. Axel got to his feet and looked at the boy in true shock, and instantly, Roxas felt remorse for misplacing all his anger on Axel. He looked up dejectedly into the green eyes of the fiery redhead.

"Roxas?" Axel inquired, in a tone so serious, that it almost took Roxas off guard.

"I'm sorry," he said, slumping so that Axel no longer had to restrain his arms. This, however, did not mean that the man would release him. "It- it's just been a tough day. I shouldn't have taken all that out on you."

"You wanna tell me what's got you so angry that it almost cost me another bone?" Axel said.

Roxas didn't, and yet did at the same time. He felt like venting, but wasn't sure if Axel was the best person to do it with. As there was no one else around, however, Roxas ended up telling Axel everything that went down at dinner, and to his great relief, Axel took it all in silently, and with an air of seriousness about him.

But at lengths end, once Roxas was done with his tale, and Axel had still said nothing, Roxas was starting to get anxious all over again.

"Well?" Roxas demanded.

"Well what?" Axel demanded in return, "I think you handled the situation a lot better than I would have. Your parents were out of line, and needed to be made aware of it."

Roxas smiled up at the tall (very tall) man, in true gratitude. Gratitude for not having made a joke of the situation, and remaining unusually sane throughout his story being told. And not for the first time (though Roxas' conscious mind would deny it to no end) a sense of strong affection towards the redhead. When he wasn't being silly, insane, moronic, psychotic, or acting like a lunatic, Axel was a good friend.

"Thanks, Axel," Roxas said sincerely, though a little uneasy about his recent admission of his true thoughts on Axel. The fact of the matter was, that most of the time, Axel _was _psychotic. And there was just no overlooking that.

Roxas, realizing he was still in Axel's grip, moved to release himself, when suddenly he felt the pressure of soft lips press firmly against his, and before he even had a chance to react, they were gone.

Axel quickly release Roxas and moved away from him towards the door, muttering his apologies as he did so.

"I didn't mean to," Axel said nervously, "really, I just…"

Roxas stared at Axel in disbelief as he continued making his way to the door.

"It was the first time I heard you say my name."

With that, Axel quickly fled the apartment, leaving Roxas to his thoughts.

* * *

**DONE!! **

**FUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**

**Ha.**


	13. XIII

**No I don't wanna leave you-- baby it tears me up inside!! But I'll never be the one you're needin. I love you…**

**Goodbye.**

**Don't read into that guys, lol, the song's just stuck in my head.**

**And, OH, a note on the name thing. I had been very careful up until the last chapter for Roxas to have never said Axel's name in his presence. In fact, the only time he's ever said Axel's name ****at all**** prior to last chapter, was in… chapter… 5 I think. When he took Axel to the ER when he told his dad what Axel's name was. **

* * *

Axel rolled over and groggily wiped his eyes into wakefulness. He yawned and peeled his sleepy eyes open, his vision falling upon a mess of blonde hair lying on the bed beside him. His heart skipped a beat until he realized that the bushel of fair hair was in the form of a disheveled mullet.

Memories of the previous night flooded into his head and he groaned in frustration.

"_Thanks, Axel," _Roxas smiled up at him.

Axel hadn't realized up until that point that he'd never heard his name fall from Roxas' lips.

And the effect was overpowering. It was all he could do to not rape him right then and there. And that kiss-- Roxas was probably furious about it. Axel groaned again and smacked his forehead. Just when Roxas had looked at him with eyes that didn't shout _"moron!"_…

His eyes fell on the man beside him again, covered in nothing but sheets.

Axel quickly leapt out of his bed and reached into his dresser to throw some boxers on. The suddenness of the motions had started awake his partner, who sat bolt right up before falling down on the bed again.

"Holy _fuck_!" Demyx whined as he curled up with the sheets, "I don't think I'll be doing much walking today."

He gently caressed his butt, glaring at Axel all the while.

"What was with you last night?" Demyx asked when the only response he got from Axel was a blank stare.

Axel promptly chose to ignore the question and moved to find his outfit for the day so he could take his shower.

"Don't you have a gig this morning?" Axel asked, searching his drawer for a shirt, "with your band?"

Demyx's eyes flew to the clock (which read 9:02 a.m.) and he quickly jumped out of the bed, screaming about how late it was. He fumbled to gather his clothes and threw them on. He was out the door, giving Axel a rushed "later" as the only form of a goodbye.

And then Axel was alone again with his thoughts to plague him even further. He had almost no clue what to do about his situation.

He wanted Roxas. Badly. And he didn't want anyone else to have him.

While these desires were entirely new to Axel, he wasn't an idiot. He watched enough TV and read enough books to know what he _should _do in this situation-- he _should _go straight to Roxas and "confess" his feelings.

Axel wasn't sure if it could be considered a confession, because he hadn't exactly been secretive about his intentions to get into Roxas' pants. And so far, that's all Roxas knew about his longing for him.

But Axel couldn't hide his feelings for Roxas. He wouldn't. he wanted more than just sex from him.

Axel felt like a stupid school girl for thinking about those things as he headed towards his bathroom. But he had absolutely resolved that he would apologize to Roxas for his earlier actions and _"confess" _to him _"properly"_.

And he would do it as soon as he was done showering. Axel showered quickly, anxiously, in somewhat of a hurry to get to Roxas. He felt that every second passed would hurt his chances of succeeding.

Once out of his shower, he quickly spiked his hair, carefully applied the bandages for his ribs, got dressed and was mentally preparing himself for his upcoming encounter. He paced around his room, back and forth from his window to the wall opposite and back.

About 20 rounds into the pattern, upon Axel's approaching the window, he saw a patch of blonde spikes that he would recognize anywhere walking towards his apartment.

Axel stared for a second, wondering if he should wait until the boy was in his home before making his move, or if that would anger him more.

Roxas had never expressed anything but anger whenever Axel showed up (announced or otherwise) at his doorstep. So he reasoned he would have a better chance at friendliness with intercepting him on his way, rather than bothering him later.

A million thoughts were rushing through Axel's head as he flew out of his door, down the steps, and fumbled with the locks on his door. When the contraption finally flew open, Axel made his way outside.

Roxas was now just yards away from his apartment door when Axel called his name.

"Roxie!" Axel yelled to get the blonde's attention.

Roxas froze as Axel closed the gap between them and stood now just two feet in front of the blue-eyed youth.

Roxas looked noticeably tense as he gazed up at Axel. And was refusing to make eye contact.

"What is it?" Roxas asked shortly.

Axel frowned at his renewed hostility.

"What are you doing out and about so early on a Saturday morning?" Axel asked curiously and conversationally, "It's not even ten yet. Didn't you get the memo that I cancelled class?"

Roxas' gaze found everything but Axel's.

"A little extra forewarning might have been nice," he muttered under his breath.

If Axel had been in a more relaxed mood, he might have laughed at how cute Roxas looked when he was annoyed, but as things were, he felt he had to take the load off of his chest-- and he had to do it as quickly as possible.

"Roxas," Axel began, causing the boy to look up at him. _Here goes nothing. _"I-"

"ROXAS!" a voice from behind the shorter male called.

Roxas couldn't have seen it in time, but Axel seemed to watch it all in slow motion.

Roxas turned around to be kissed firmly and suddenly on his lips by a young, slightly short, radiantly blonde beauty dressed only in a white sun dress.

She broke the kiss and smiled happily at Roxas, who, in surprise, could only exclaim:

"Namine!"

* * *

Roxas turned around upon hearing his name shouted by an all too familiar voice just on cue for a pair of miraculously soft lips to collide with his own.

As they broke apart, Roxas eyed his girlfriend in great surprise.

"Namine!" were all the syllables his shock would allow him

"Well, who else would be kissing you like that?" she grinned at Roxas, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Did you miss me?"

"You're back early," Roxas said, much more collected now, "did something happen? Is everything alright?"

Namine kindly laughed at his concern.

"Everything is just fine, just fine," she assured with a waving gesture, then her eyes looked past Roxas and settled onto the tall creature behind him.

"Who's this, honey?" she asked, releasing one arm from around him so that he could turn to face Axel.

"This is my-" Roxas got hung up on what to say. "-friend," he settled on, "Axel."

Axel's eyes found his for a second before the redhead took up Namine's hand, the one _not _wrapped around Roxas' waist, and cordially placed a kiss upon it.

Namine blushed and withdrew her hand.

"So you're the fabled girlfriend," Axel said, a mischievous smirk on his face, "A pleasure. I was starting to doubt whether or not you were real."

Namine laughed-- giggled.

"Roxas has been talking about me, has he?" she asked, beaming at her boyfriend, "I don't know whether to be flattered or scared."

"Both couldn't hurt," Axel said.

A brief silence befell the party.

"Oh!" Roxas suddenly said, addressing Axel, "you were going to tell me something?"

"Oh, did I interrupt?" Namine asked, "I', so sorry. I'll just go wait in the living room."

And so Namine took her leave, letting herself in with the key Roxas had given her to his apartment when he first moved in.

Once she was out of earshot, Axel turned back to Roxas.

"So that's the slave driver, huh?"

Roxas threw him a glare and Axel threw his hands up in immediate surrender.

"What did you want to say?"

Axel looked to his left, as though trying to remember something, but just shrugged his shoulders in the end.

"I can't remember," he professed, heading back to his apartment, "So it probably wasn't important. Later, Roxie."

Axel disappeared into his apartment and Roxas stood there, very confused, but ultimately waved the whole thing off.

Namine was back. That was the last thing in the world Roxas had expected to happen.

Well… _almost_.

He had just come from Kairi's apartment, where Riku and Sora were staying, because he had to talk to his brother about what happened between him and Axel last night. And the… _confusion_ that followed. All anger or tension about the dinner was temporarily set aside as Roxas explained that, despite himself, and despite everything he knew, when he felt Axel kiss him that time, he couldn't find any urge within him to resist it. And if Axel had kept going a fraction of a second longer, he probably would have gotten a reaction.

Sora didn't do much help other than to say that the answer was "inside of you".

Useless.

Roxas was glad Namine was back. She was a nice reminder of who he was, and where he was going with his life. Who he loved, and who he wanted to be with.

With her back in town, everything would be set straight again. **(1)**

Roxas headed into his house to find Namine rearranging some things in the living room.

"Hayner will throw a fit if he catches you," Roxas warned her, before taking a seat on the couch.

She seemed nonplussed by this and continued her rearrangements of the small statues and such that graced the area.

"These are very tacky, Roxas," Namine commented as she tried her best to make the place more sophisticated.

"You're taking this up with the wrong guy," Roxas said, getting more comfortable on the couch.

When she was sufficiently convinced that nothing and no arrangement could be made to save the room, she gave up and took a seat. Not next to Roxas, not in front of Roxas, but _on _Roxas' lap, and wrapped her arms around his neck in a gentle embrace.

An embrace Roxas hadn't felt in a long time.

"We've lost a lot of time together," Namine proclaimed.

"Three weeks?"

"That's three weeks too many!" she attested, "So I've planned out our whole day today!" She said excitedly, then suddenly, as though realizing some sad fact, lowered her head, "unless you had plans today, then I guess we could just wait until you're free…"

Roxas inwardly smirked.

"I don't have a single thing on my schedule today," Roxas assured her, and watched as her face lit up again, "I'm yours."

She smiled happily again before starting on her story (her very long story) of her stay at the Destiny Islands and everything she did there and all the people she met and ran into. All the cute boys that tried to make a pass at her, but she remained totally and completely loyal to Roxas. Didn't so much as _look _at someone the wrong way.

As she said these things, all the stolen kisses from Axel suddenly flooded into Roxas' mind, and a mixture of shame and anxiety seeped into his consciousness. He tried to push them out as he forced himself to sit and listen to Namine again.

It seemed her story would never end when the front door opened, and Hayner walked in, looking as sharp as he was usually looking as of late.

"So you just _don't _believe in locks?" Hayner asked, before looking up to see Namine there posted on Roxas. His eyebrows raised in slight shock. "Namine," he said, "hey. Your vacation over already?"

"Mama and Daddy grew tired of the same scenery," Namine informed him, "and we grew homesick, so Daddy insisted that we cut our vacation short and come back home. Which reminds me!" she turned to Roxas, "Uncle Marluxia has decided to throw us a homecoming party! Of course since Uncle lives all the way out in Radient Garden, we'll be using our own home for the occasion. It's next Friday; Hayner, I insist you come."

"Actually, I have a date-"

"Bring her too!" Namine said, "the more the merrier."

"I don't know…"

"Roxas, convince him," Namine whined.

"Come on Hayner," Roxas said, "What's the worst that could happen? --Oh, or are you ashamed of her so much that you don't want us to see her."

"Childish provocation…" Hayner said.

Then Roxas, so that Namine wouldn't see him, mouthed the word: "Please."

Hayner sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Fine," he sighed, "I'll be there. We'll be there."

Namine smiled contentedly as Hayner continued upstairs.

"Thank you, lovely," she smiled and started playing with Roxas' hair.

"I think we should go shopping today," Namine said, "to get something to wear for the party tomorrow. You'll need a nice suit, because if I remember correctly, my parents have already seen you in all the suits you have."

"I'm sure they have," Roxas agreed, "But I hardly see how that matters. I'm not going to the party for your parents."

Namine smiled at him.

"Yes," she agreed, "But I'd rather not give them something else to disapprove of you. Come on, I'll buy you a new suit."

"I'd rather you didn't buy me anything," Roxas said, feeling another one of her oncoming shopping splurges.

"Come _on_," she urged, "please. For me?"

She looked up at him and pouted, and Roxas sighed in his defeat.

"Thank you!" she squealed, and kissed Roxas tenderly. Before she had the opportunity to pull away, Roxas held her in place with his hand on the back of her neck and deepened the kiss, seeking entrance.

The kiss became more and more passionate until Roxas finally pulled away, Namine's cheeks fully flushed crimson.

"I brought my chauffer," Namine said, recomposing herself and hopping off of Roxas, "let's go."

Roxas followed his girlfriend out the door, in slightly a slightly more dejected state than before. The kisses, which he remembered to give him so much warmth before, now held nothing behind them. Had things changed so drastically in just three weeks? Or was it his memory that was the mistaken factor?

* * *

It was nine thirty at night, and Roxas was completely exhausted. Twelve hours of running all across towns left him with sore feet and drained energy; energy that was soon replenished by the shock that went through his system when he saw Sora sitting on his couch of his living room alone in the dark.

"What are you doing?" Roxas asked at Sora's madness, "Doesn't anyone know how to call and say they're coming over anymore?"

"I've been waiting for five hours," Sora said, "I didn't really think you would take this long to get home."

"Namine got back in town," Roxas explained, locking up the door behind him and turning on the light.

"Yeah," Sora said, "Hayner told me. I caught him going out to class right as I was coming."

"Good ol' Hayner," Roxas said sarcastically.

Sora watched in silence as Roxas took off his coat and shoes and began making himself more comfortable.

"Well?" Sora asked, waving the foot that was across his other knee impatiently.

Roxas furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Well what?"

Sora sighed with exaggerated exasperation and stood to his feet.

"Well even though I gave you generic advice, I still wanna know what you're gonna do!"

Roxas looked at his brother with eyes slightly widened in caution of his sudden manic. Then he made his way to the loveseat and eased himself down. The cushions of that piece of furniture had never seemed so soft.

"I'm not going to do anything," Roxas answered his brother, settling into a comfortable slouch on the two seating couch, "I have a girlfriend, whom I love and will continue to love."

"But you're turning gay!" Sora persisted, "You can't just ignore that."

"Why can't I?" Roxas demanded.

"Because if you don't at least let yourself _admit _the possibility," Sora began, "You're going to spend your entire life wondering about it, and possibly miserable beyond recognition."

"I'll be miserable to the point of deformation because I won't admit that maybe I might possibly be slightly attracted to a man?" Roxas clarified.

"Yes!"

"Sora," Roxas groaned, "I really don't feel like having this conversation right now. Even if I _were_, just hypothetically here, even if I were attracted to a man… _Axel_?"

"I like him," Sora thought aloud, "he seems fun."

"You don't know him," Roxas said in a low voice.

"And you do?"

"Look," Roxas said, "come back tomorrow, and we can talk about it then. Ok?"

"Don't you believe in signs?" Sora asked, "I mean, first you meet him at the bar, then you find out he lives next door to you, and _then _you find out he's your teacher. Isn't that some kind of inclination towards something?"

"Yeah, that this town is too small."

Sora growled in frustration at his brother's stubbornness and folded his arms in defeat.

"Fine," he said, "I'll go. But don't think this conversation is over."

And on that note, Sora hastily fled the apartment, and Roxas was beginning to relax when he felt his cell phone vibrate against his pants legs. He lazily reached down and flipped it open without checking to see who it was.

"This had better be good," he said into the phone.

"Roxas, buddy," Hayner's voice came from the other end of the line.

"What is it, Hayner?" Roxas asked, half sleep.

"I'm at the college… My car's battery died," he explained, "and I was wondering-"

Roxas sighed irritably and loudly into the phone.

"I'm on my way."

He didn't even wait for Hayner's response before hanging his phone up and rolling off the couch. Roxas unwillingly got to his feet and grabbed his shoes on his way out, not bothering to put them on until he got into his car. **(2)**

* * *

Roxas arrived at one of Twilight Community College's parking lot and searched around until he saw Hayner's car. Because of the time of night, the parking lot was virtually empty, but around Hayner's car was a small congregation of bodies, that all turned to look at Roxas' black vehicle as soon as he pulled up beside him.

Roxas stepped out of the car to see Demyx, Hayner, and some other man with purplish hair covering one of his eyes standing around, apparently in the middle of some conversation.

"Roxas," Hayner greeted, breaking away from the group as Roxas walked over to them, "Thanks for coming, I'm sorry for putting you out like this."

"I got used to you putting me out a long time ago," Roxas said irritably. It was the woe of being a best friend. Roxas could never _not _help a friend when they asked. "The jumper cables are in the trunk."

Hayner went to Roxas' car and got to work reviving his engine and Roxas' settled his eyes on the other three men present.

"Hi Roxas," Demyx said, waving casually at Roxas.

"Hey," Roxas said politely, "What are you doing here?"

"Well usually I meet up with Axel around this time, to pick him up," Demyx explained, "But he wasn't in his classroom. So then I wandered around a little, seeing if I could run into him in some of the usual places he is, and I ran into Professor Zexion here, a good friend of Axel's apparently, who told me he didn't come in today. Then on my way back to my car, we ran into Hayner, who I've seen a million times at the bar Axel works at, and decided to keep him company until his help arrived. Which was you apparently."

Roxas had lost interest in the tale almost as soon as he asked the question.

"Zexion?" Roxas said, looking at the (rather short) man, "Don't you teach at Olympus?"

Zexion replied only with a stiff nod before Roxas turned back to Hayner, who was now done connecting the cars.

"I need your keys," Hayner said, and Roxas tossed him the requested objects.

"I haven't seen Axel all day," Demyx sighed, "he didn't answer his phone either. I don't know if I should be worried, or if I'm just being paranoid."

"I saw Axel this morning," Roxas said, "When Namine got back… Hayner what time was that?"

"Around nine thirty," Hayner said while walking from Roxas' revved up car to his own.

"Who's Namine?" Demyx asked curiously.

"My girlfriend," Roxas answered, "He went into his apartment last time I saw. I've been gone nearly all day though, so I don't know if he's still there."

Suddenly a look of mortification struck Demyx's face and he began to run wildly towards, Roxas imagined, where his car was parked.

Everyone was taken by surprise by his sudden action.

The silence that ensued Demyx's departure, however, was soon ended with the sound of Hayner's archaic box of a vehicle roared to a start.

"Yes!" Hayner exclaimed in excitement as he got out of the car to start disconnecting the jumper cables. "Home, here I come."

Roxas turned and bid Zexion a polite farewell and got back into his car once Hayner was done.

* * *

Axel felt pathetic. Not because of his _huge _oversight in forgetting that Roxas was in a long standing relationship, but because he was so depressed over it, that he resorted to getting completely drunk to try and forget it.

Axel sat out on his patio, ignoring all the furniture that adorned it, sitting on the hard concrete against the wall of the house. The scene was completed with a nearly empty bottle of gin in his hand-- about a quarter of the way full. Which was horrible news for Axel. He was cursed, and almost always had been, with an unusually high alcohol tolerance, so even though he was nearing the lethal dose of alcohol, he wasn't nearly as drunk as he'd have liked to be.

Unrequited love was a bitch.

And so was Roxas' girlfriend, Axel decided in his drunken stupor, who did she think she was? Kissing him like that?

_Slut_.

Axel looked up at the darkened night sky with a sigh. His situation, as sensitive as it already was, instantly became ten times more sticky, and it was no longer a matter of a simple confession. If he wanted to have Roxas, it would mean actually stealing that stubborn mule from his (unfortunately) gorgeous girlfriend.

It wasn't exactly a new thing for Axel, and that was yet another source of confusion. He'd done it before. He'd told Roxas that he'd done it before-- and not even for the sake of a relationship, just because he wanted to have sex with the guy.

So why was he so hesitant to do it now?

It was times like these, Axel thought, that it wouldn't be so bad to have taken the time growing up to get a best friend. Someone to talk to. The first person who came to mind was Roxas, but that wouldn't work out. Even if the situation didn't involve him, he wondered if the blonde would listen to his problems. Or if he would have screamed at him, called him a lunatic, and sent him on his merry way.

Axel smiled stupidly to himself in serious doubt of that reaction, and took another swig of gin. Suddenly he heard the glass sliding doors of the patio slam open, and Axel didn't bother looking up. He had no desire to.

Demyx came around, bent down, and snatched the bottle out of Axel's hand before pouring the rest of its contents out in front of the latter's eyes. Axel would have protested, but that would have exerted more energy that he cared to at the moment.

"You're sad," Demyx informed, setting the bottle on a nearby table, "do you know that? Utterly pathetic."

Axel nodded in consent, his head going all the way back, and all the way down for each motion.

"Is this what that boy's done to you?" Demyx demanded, only angered by Axel's apparent nonchalance, "Degraded you to a miserable pile of meat and bones sucking up our air? What happened to the heartless bastard I've been sleeping with for the last two years? You didn't have any problem ripping me from my fiancée."

Axel wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so he decided not to respond at all. Demyx wasn't saying anything that he hadn't already said to himself.

Demyx sighed and sat down in front of Axel, and forced the redhead to look him directly eye to eye.

"How can you love him so much already?" Demyx asked, with a fist full of Axel's spikes, "You've barely known him for two weeks."

If nothing else was snagging Axel's attention, that certainly had. His attention snapped with sudden, mind numbing clarity as he tried to digest what Demyx was insinuating. There was no denying that he was intensely attracted to Roxas, no denying that he wanted Roxas for more than just his body, and no denying that he didn't want anyone _else _to have him, but love?

_Love_?

It was like Demyx said, he'd only known him for two weeks; and one day. And Axel wasn't such a hopeless romantic that he believed in love at first sight. Especially when he had never been in love before to begin with.

No, he didn't _love _Roxas, and he relayed this message to Demyx with as much certainty in his voice as his drunkenness would allow him.

Demyx replied to his assertion with a scoff.

"Tell that to the bottle of gin on the table," he said, "Or the students in the classes you missed today, or the person whose gonna have to fill in for you tomorrow at the bar if you keep on like this. It's really sad to see, you know?"

Axel sighed again.

"Fine. If you _"like"_ him that much then," Demyx corrected, "why don't you fight for him? Instead of sitting home all day, moping and drinking yourself sick."

Axel frowned at the idea of trying to compete for Roxas' affections against that slave driver he called a girlfriend. There was no pride in that.

"What's pride worth in lov- like?" Demyx said, as though reading Axel's mind.

There was a long silence, in which Axel struggled to connect thoughts into a coherent pattern. And when that finally happened, he realized, reluctantly, that Demyx was right. Sitting around getting drunk about something wasn't doing anything about it. Axel was a charming guy-- if he said so himself.

He'd never had any problems making people fall for him, so why should he now? Even if Roxas _was _a lot more stubborn than anyone else he'd ever tried to purposefully seduce, Axel was almost positive the job could be done.

He looked up at Demyx with resolve and gratitude in his eyes.

Sulking on his ass about something as trivial as Roxas' girlfriend coming to town was the most shameful thing Axel had ever done.

He was still going to make Roxas fall for him-- one way or the other.

* * *

**NAMINE'S DEBUT! as many of you have requested-- in the most unceremonious fashion my mind could contrive. fuahahahahahaha!! Ahem.  
**

**(1) LOL!! No pun intended.**

**(2) I am often guilty of this very same act. Lol**

**Well I think that wraps it up for this chappy. Axel had his (very short lived) emotional slump, but now he's back in the game, ready to give Namine a run for her money-- or her man at least. Lol**

**Review and I won't run over you if I see you on the street! :D**

**And a special thanks to my new beta-- itstartedwithapapou. And the person who was my substitute beta reader while I was in between-- my beloved Natalia- hpfanatic466. **

**Lol, she gets all the scoop on Axis before I've posted it.**


	14. XIV

**I have been humbly corrected by an anonymous reviewer in my last chapter--Chou -- informed me that Roxas ****had ****said Axel's name in the very first chapter, and she was very right. Lol. Forgive my oversight. Roxas DID say Axel's name three times. That's been edited out now tho. wink lawl. So thanks to her attentiveness. That's what I get for tryna be clever ****after ****I'd posted the first chapter.**

**And you guys, I've known from the start that namine's name is actually spelled "Naminè", instead of "Namine". but who has the patience to sit there and hit alt+0232 every time her name came up? **

* * *

It was late the next morning, Sunday, and Roxas was out to check the mail he had forgotten to get yesterday. He and Hayner usually never got much, bills when they were due, general ads, and that was about it.

The air was annoyingly humid, and a little frigid, and Roxas regretted his decision to leave his jacket behind on the short trip. He was on his way back and almost to his apartment, mail in hand, when he heard his hated nick name called from behind him.

"Roxie!" Axel called, coming from the direction of the parking lot. Roxas only briefly wondered what Axel was doing so early in the day before taking a quick glance at him and turning around to head for his apartment again. Axel was the last person Roxas needed to see right then. "No- wait!"

Roxas sighed at the man's plea-- the plea he apparently was never able to properly resist-- and turned to face Axel again just as the latter made his way to just feet apart from where Roxas was standing. Roxas stared up at Axel and Axel stared down at Roxas.

And stared.

And _stared_.

"Well!" Roxas asked agitatedly, after several moments of silence had passed, "what do you want?"

Axel shrugged his shoulders.

"Nothing."

"Goodbye."

"Ok I lied!" Axel confessed in a move to keep Roxas from leaving, "I wanna go out. Let's go somewhere today. Right now."

Roxas frowned.

"No," he responded, "don't you have any _other _people to bother?"

"Plenty," Axel affirmed, "but none are as cute or fun to bother as you."

Roxas glared up at Axel fiercely (because if he didn't, his flushed face would have been even more noticeable).

"I'm not in the mood today, A-"

Roxas halted mid sentence, remembering the taller man's reaction the last time he used his name. "I'm just not in the mood."

Axel cast him a strange look.

"So you were in the mood all those _other _times?" Axel asked dubiously, a broad smirk stretching from ear to ear. "You were in _the mood _for me?"

Roxas didn't have time to respond before he heard his apartment door (some five feet behind him now) open up. Roxas saw the unpleasant face on Axel's face before he saw the cause of it, as he turned around to see Namine standing in the door way-- adorned in nothing but the linen from Roxas' bed, held in place only by her right hand.

"Roxas," she sighed, "I can't find the towels."

"Namine!" Roxas shouted, rushing towards her to push her back into the privacy of his apartment, "What are you crazy? Did you lose your modesty on the Destiny Islands?"

"Well," she began with an impish smile, "if you had waited for me to take all my clothes off, then I wouldn't have to wait for them tofinish drying right now."

Roxas shook his head and ushered the woman back into the apartment.

"I'll bring you some towels, ok?" Roxas said, trying to appease her.

"Oh," she began, "I didn't get to mention this to you earlier, but we have lunch with my parents today. So since it's already close to noon, don't eat anything, 'kay?"

And with that she closed the door behind her.

"I thought rich kids were supposed to be brought up with more… home training than that," Axel observed.

"You would think so, wouldn't you?" Roxas agreed, still feeling the shame that Namine obviously didn't have.

"So I guess you're busy today," Axel sighed with exaggerated dejection, "bowing down to your master now that she's come back-"

"Axel…" Roxas warned, forgetting the taboo on that name for a moment. He noticed the sudden rigidness in the tall man, before Axel began off towards his own apartment.

"Your girlfriend's back," he waved off, "I get it. We'll hang out when her homecoming phase is over, and things are back to normal. See ya."

Roxas watched as Axel went into his apartment and shook his head at Axel's uncommon naiveté. He didn't realize that this was the way that things usually were with him and Namine.

Roxas went back into his apartment, in silent dread of his meal to come with his girlfriend's parents. While they never said anything directly, Roxas could tell they didn't want Roxas with their daughter, due to his impoverished upbringing. His dad was only make a six digit salary a year, after all, and that was just far too little for any suitor of _their _daughter.

Namine fought against them though, every time they might say something to underhandedly slight Roxas.

Roxas smiled at the thought as he made his way to the laundry room to find some towels for his girlfriend, who Roxas assumed was now in the shower. He grabbed a huge white beach towel and trudged upstairs and stealthily entered the bathroom.

She'd opted for a bubble bath instead…

Namine's eyes found Roxas' and a smile stretched across her face.

"Your towel?" Roxas said, holding up the object.

"You can set it right here," she said, gesturing towards the lidded toilet seat. Roxas set it down and was prepared to walk out, when a call from Namine stopped him.

"So whose this Axel character?" she asked before Roxas' hand could properly latch onto the door.

Roxas felt a pang of awareness and he tensed up at the question. Did she suspect something? Had she found anything out? He turned to face her cautiously.

"Just someone I know," Roxas answered, trying to be cool about the situation, "why?"

She shrugged her shoulders aloofly, and started gathering the bubbles toward her-- making some shape out of them.

"You just seem pretty close to him," she observed, "but you can't have known him for longer than I've been gone." she then turned an accusing eye to Roxas. "Can you have?"

Roxas resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"You don't have a complete roster of all my acquaintances," Roxas said, a little annoyed.

Namine's eyes widened a bit at his tone.

"You've never mentioned him before," she responded after a short pause, "I just thought if you two were so close, you would have mentioned him to me."

Axel was really the last thing he wanted to talk with Namine about.

"I've only known him a couple of weeks," Roxas sighed, "we're not all that close."

Namine nodded, satisfied with his answer and resumed construction on her bubble sculpture.

"He seems…" she fished for the right word, "charming."

"He's psychotic," Roxas corrected, with a slight smile in place. He only realized his expression, however, when he looked up and caught Namine staring at him strangely again.

"Well anyway," Roxas said, clearing his throat, "I'm going to go finish a paper for one of my classes. Let me know when you're ready to leave."

* * *

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday went by in one of the slowest fashions Roxas had ever known-- and they were much of the same routine. Axel would show up early to ambush Roxas and try to convince him to go somewhere-- anywhere it seemed.

And each time, as Axel soon noticed as the pattern, Namine would arrive just as Roxas was about to give an answer, and inform the shorter male of some prior engagement she had arranged for the both of them.

It had turned into a pattern that Namine had found comical, Roxas found discomforting, and who knows what was going through Axel's mind.

On Thursday night, however, Roxas came home after a particularly exhausting day on the town with Namine, who was painstakingly thorough when it came to shopping for anything. She was the type who didn't want to settle for something in case there was another, better thing out there waiting for her-- and she was determined to analyze and assess every thing she considered buying until she practically memorized the bar code.

It was almost eleven, and Roxas was looking forward to getting into his bed and collapsing into slumber land. So much so was Roxas caught up in this wish, that he didn't notice until he was some ten feet away from his apartment door, that there was a red head man sitting in front of it, slumped and sleeping against the faded blue door.

Roxas looked quizzically at him, and after getting over the initial surprise, wondered how long Axel had been waiting.

Without any conscious command, he felt his lips slip into a smile as he stared at the snoozing, blemish-free face of the redhead. Roxas finished his journey and approached Axel, waking him with a sharp kick to his leg.

"What the hell are you doing?" Roxas demanded, as Axel started awake, confusion writ through freshly awakened gaze. His eyes found Roxas though and with a quick stretch and a brief wipe of his face, he stood up.

"Are you insane?" Roxas asked, noting the considerable height change as Axel rose to his feet, "You'll catch a cold like that. And who knows who saw you, or what someone could have done to you-"

"I'm sorry," Axel said, heaving a sigh and staring down into Roxas' eyes. The apology took Roxas off guard. "I didn't mean to fall asleep, I just hadn't expected you to take so long getting back."

What, no comeback? No annoying double meaning response? Roxas eyed Axel with a little concern.

"Are you feeling alright?" Roxas asked, putting his hand to Axel's forehead. It was so cold Roxas nearly recoiled.

Roxas shook his head and withdrew his hand to unlock his apartment. The task was accomplished in all of ten seconds and Roxas quickly pulled Axel in, away from the cold.

"You _are _insane," Roxas muttered under his breath, closing the door after Axel had entered. He was about to lock the door when Axel's hand suddenly rested gently atop his own to stop him.

Roxas felt his heart skip a beat and he froze. Axel's hand was even colder than his forehead, and Roxas had the urge to hold onto it even tighter to warm it up for him.

"I won't be staying long," Axel said, "I just wanted to ask you something."

Roxas only trusted himself to face Axel once their hands were no longer touching. Once he had turned to look, he saw that Axel was wearing a painfully forced smile, and Roxas had seriously begun to worry if he was really ill or not.

"Yes?" Roxas inquired.

"I want you to come with me tomorrow," Axel said.

Roxas sighed.

"Axel, you know-"

"Yeah, I know Namine's monopolizing all of your time," Axel said irritably, "But I really want you to come with me tomorrow. Will you? Please?"

Both Roxas and Axel both knew how things usually went when Axel asked Roxas to do something, before Namine came back to town, that is. Before Roxas could object, however, using his girlfriend as an excuse, Axel cut him off.

"Whatever she has planned," he said, "cancel on her. I'm sure you don't even know what she has planned. Just tell her 'no' for once."

Axel's face had turned to an angry one now, and this took Roxas slightly aback. Realizing this, Axel tuned things down a bit.

"It would really mean a lot to me," Axel said earnestly.

And how could Roxas bring himself to deny that face?

Roxas consented before he was even fully aware of it himself, but watched with satisfaction as a smile burst onto Axel's face.

"We'll leave out tomorrow then!" Axel said, behaving like his usual self, "I'll come by at nine so we can have breakfast first!"

And Axel departed quickly, and would hopefully get into his bed and warm up again. Roxas felt guilty about Axel waiting out in the cold for him-- and suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to ask him how long he'd been out there. Maybe Roxas didn't want to know.

* * *

It was 8:30 in the morning when Roxas heard the doorbell ring, and there was only one person these days who arrived at Roxas' apartment so early in the morning.

"Morning, Namine," Roxas said, letting his girlfriend in, no longer surprised by her unannounced visits.

"Hi, Roxas," she smiled, pecking him quickly on the cheek and walking past him into the house. "Since tomorrow is the party, I was thinking that today we could-"

"Actually," Roxas cut her off, before letting herself get too far with her plans, "I have plans today."

Namine looked at Roxas like he was speaking a different language.

"Plans?" she repeated.

Roxas nodded his head nervously. He'd only ever tried to say "no" to Namine three times in their relationship, and each time he was met with failure by different techniques.

"Well," she began, "are they so important that you would risk looking completely out of place and disheveled in front of everyone at the party tomorrow? It's formal you know."

The threat.

"I promised my friend," Roxas responded, watching as his girlfriend drew nearer to him.

The determined look in her eyes suddenly faltered as she lowered her gaze to the ground and sighed heavily.

"Well I _did _spring this on you at the last minute," she admitted with a sad face, "if you already had plans, it would be kinda rude to break them just to make your _girlfriend _happy…"

The guilt trip.

Roxas quickly agreed with her, which obviously wasn't the correct response.

Namine suddenly slung both her arms around Roxas' shoulders and brought her lips to his ear.

"Your girlfriend who can do things for you," she whispered seductively in Roxas' ear, "that your friend can't." She began nibbling at Roxas ear lobe, and trailed kisses all the way down and across Roxas' throat until she made her way to the other ear. "Can your friend do this for you?"

Autonomously, at her words, Roxas replaced Namine with Axel in his mind and felt his face flush as _Axel's _lips began softly caressing his skin. Roxas felt his eyes close as _Axel _went lower and his hands took themselves from behind his shoulder and snaked their way up his shirt.

_Axel's _hands began exploring the expanse of skin beneath his clothing and Roxas felt himself reacting to the touches. He was brought out of his reverie only when a voice that wasn't _Axel__'s _made its way to his ears.

"_Can he_?"

Then reality came flooding back into his mind and his eyes snapped open with a start. He quickly jumped away from Namine and straightened his shirt out.

The sex offer-- with a new twist to it.

"I… already promised him," Roxas struggled to say, still a little flustered from what just happened.

Namine clearly looked put out, but made no further attempt to stop Roxas.

"Well I understand then," she said, folding her arms and walking to the couch where she collapsed, "I can at least hang out with you until you leave can't I?"

Roxas, still trying a little to recover, couldn't help but smile at his girlfriend's pouting. It was a rarity when he saw her like that. And it was sort of cute.

He walked over and bent down to kiss her forehead in apology. He was about to sit down beside her when the doorbell suddenly rang again.

Roxas looked at the clock hanging on the wall (which read 8:35) and inwardly sighed at Axel's consistent earliness.

"Already?!" Namine complained as Roxas went to answer the door.

"Hi Roxie!" was the first sound Roxas was greeted with when the door was opened.

"You're half an hour early," Roxas said, walking away from the door to let Axel through.

"Nice to see you too," Axel smiled, stepping through into the apartment. Roxas rolled his eyes and began searching the room for his wallet.

"Nice to see you again, Axel," Namine greeted politely, however strained the tone was.

Axel returned the sentiment in the same tone of voice, and Roxas eyed the both of them anxiously.

"I was hoping me and Roxas would go out today," Namine began, "to do the last bit of shopping for a soiree we'll be attending tomorrow. But then he told me he already had plans with you."

Roxas didn't miss the smirk that played on Axel's lips.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry about that," Axel attested, "I assure you he's all yours tomorrow."

Roxas picked up the search for his wallet, hoping to get out of this awkwardness quickly.

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of that!" Namine suddenly said, "I'm extending you an invitation. I insist that you come tomorrow."

Roxas looked at his girlfriend in confusion, and then noticed that she was now wearing a smirk of her own, "I know its last minute, but I'm sure Roxas would be thrilled if you could make it."

"Uh, Namine," Roxas began, "I don't think he-"

"I'd love to go," Axel suddenly answered.

"Excellent!" Namine said, standing up and reaching into her purse for an invitation. "The details are all here."

She handed a small, fancy looking piece of paper to Axel who kept his smile plastered on his face.

Then Namine strode over to Roxas, who was now frantically searching in every area he could find for his wallet.

"Bye, hon," she said and gave Roxas a quick peck on the lips before reaching in her purse and handing him his wallet, "You left it in the limo last night. Have fun."

And she walked past Axel, who followed her with his eyes until she was out the door.

"Charming as ever," he said, once she was gone.

"Watch it," Roxas warned, slipping his wallet into his back pocket.

"So I can't insult her, and I can't compliment her either?" Axel asked, "what _can _I say about her?"

"That wasn't a real compliment," Roxas said.

Axel didn't respond.

"Smells like her in here," Axel suddenly commented, "_floral._"

Roxas eyed Axel strangely before sitting down on his couch.

"Where are we going?" Roxas asked, "And why do you always turn up early whenever we make plans?"

"We're going out," Axel answered, "And I'm always early, because if I wasn't, I'd always be late."

Then he made his way to the door.

"Shall we?"

* * *

Roxas was almost glad to see that his and Axel's interactions with each other had not changed. They'd eaten breakfast and he'd said enough things to fluster and annoy Roxas, and Roxas had kept referring to him as a psycho/maniac/lunatic/moron/idiot in a strangely endearing fashion (at least to Axel anyway).

He'd missed that, and it wasn't until this morning that he'd realized how much. It was 10 in the morning when they'd left the restaurant, and they were on the road, into some section that Roxas didn't recognize at all.

"So where are we going, exactly?" Roxas asked, "why is it such a secret?"

"I can't tell you either without ruining the secret," Axel said in a very "duh" type of tone.

Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," he yawned, stomach full and eyes heavy "Just wake me up when we're there."

But it seemed as though Roxas had barely uttered the words when he felt the car come to a stop and the engine shut off.

Roxas opened his eyes and saw that they were in a very full parking lot. The building for which the parking lot existed was some 15 yards behind them, and from the angle, Roxas couldn't read the building's name. It looked like some sort of hospital or clinic, though.

Roxas followed Axel's lead of getting out the car, his shiny, expensive looking car that stood out from all the others in the lot, and heading towards the building. Roxas heard the car alarm behind him signal that it was armed and Axel called after him, telling him to keep up.

Roxas resentfully picked up his pace as the letters on the top of the building came into view:

Twilight Town Mental Health Clinic.

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows at the place, wondering what on earth could have possessed Axel to take him there.

They walked past the automatic sliding doors of the clinic into the waiting room and straight up to the front desk, and the woman behind the glass smiled when she looked up to see Axel's face. She was an aging, short, plump little woman with a kind countenance about her.

"Good morning dear," she said to Axel, then looked at Roxas, clearly giving Axel the sign for an introduction.

"This is a good friend of mine," Axel said, placing a hand around Roxas' shoulder, "Roxie. Roxie, this is Dolores."

Roxas smiled tensely and violently threw Axel's arm off of him.

"My name is Roxas," he corrected.

"You're here earlier than usual, but Lyra's room was just cleaned a few minutes ago," she reported cheerily, "you can go in."

Axel smiled his thanks and went through a pair of big double doors which lead to a hall way full of nothing but single doors. Axel navigated his way through swiftly and by memory.

Roxas hardly had any time to wonder who Lyra was before he found himself in a big, very clean, very cool room with the sun shining brightly through a very large window. It was furnished simply. A bed in one corner. A desk right beside it. And a chair in front of the window.

In that chair sat a lovely young woman with striking features, and hair just as dead straight hair that went well to her stomach just as red as Axel's. Roxas imagined she would have been even more alluring if the expression on her face hadn't been so blank and distant.

It had only taken seeing the hair, however, for Roxas to deduce who this was.

"This is my sister," Axel said, slowly approaching the girl. "Lyra."

When he was in front of her, he knelt down and motioned for Roxas to come over.

Roxas was a little bit at a loss for what to do, and very much overwhelmed with the situation he'd just realized he was in. He was almost afraid to approach the girl, but much beckoning from Axel led him to undertake the task anyway. She looked briefly at Axel when he'd walked up to her, but then quickly averted her gaze, now smiling like a fool.

"Lyra," Axel began with a smile on his face, "This is my friend, Roxie." She didn't even bother noticing Roxas.

But it was Roxas who first noticed that she had something in her hand, and he pointed it out to Axel just as a female orderly came in with a handful of towels.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," she said, going to the closet, "I thought I'd have a few hours before you got here."

Axel didn't say anything as he reached down to grab the crumbled piece of paper his sister was holding on to. He had to do a lot of coaxing too, because she wasn't giving it up without a fight.

"For Axel…" she protested angrily, sadly realizing that the man in front of her wasn't her brother. But she finally let go.

The orderly turned at her complaints and saw what Axel had in his hands.

"Oh," she said, "the darling thing. She's spent quite a while working on that last night for you. The fact that she even remembered is a very good sign about her progression."

Axel straightened out the paper in his hand (it was terribly crumpled) and opened it.

It was a plain white piece of folded printer paper, and Roxas, standing behind Axel, could look over his shoulder and read the primitively written, and barely legible, "Happy Birthday" on the sheet.

Roxas couldn't see Axel's face, was quite sure he heard the man stop breathing.

The orderly closed the closet and turned to cheerily wish Axel and Roxas with a good day.

Roxas politely muttered a reply, as Axel was still recomposing himself. Suddenly Axel rose to his feet, and bent over to kiss the girl on her head.

"Thank you Lyra," he said calmly, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a wrapped up strawberry piece of candy and set wrapped it safely into her palm before turning to face Roxas, who was still very paralyzed by everything. "Let's go, Roxie."

Roxas absently followed Axel's body, but his eyes stayed on Lyra until he was out of the room. And even then, Roxas didn't say anything until he and Axel were back in the car.

"Roxie?" Axel asked, "Are you ok?"

Roxas hardly knew how to respond.

"She's…" Roxas struggled to find something, "gorgeous."

Axel grinned sheepishly, as though the compliment were paid directly to himself.

"I would take you to see my mother," he said, "but she's not so pleasant of a woman. I only go to see her once a month myself."

Roxas remembered, Axel's mother was a drunk. Roxas found Axel amazingly dutiful when he considered that he still went to see her at all.

"Why did you take me with you?" Roxas suddenly asked.

Axel was silent for some time as he drove.

"I'm not sure," he said after a while, "People I've known longer than you still don't even know about her."

Roxas couldn't help but feeling honored.

"But then I still don't feel as close to people I've known longer as I do to you," he responded a little more quietly.

Roxas, again, was at a loss for what to say, so decided only to smile at the redhead and drove the rest of the way home in silence.

* * *

It was a little past eleven o clock a.m. when Roxas and Axel had made it back into their complex.

"I sprung you from your slave driver's grasp for the rest of the day," Axel commented once they were in front of Roxas' apartment. "What are you going to do with your suddenly acquired free time?"

Roxas was torn between punching Axel and laughing, so he decided on not responding at all, and just unlock his door. Now in the doorway, he heard Axel call after him.

"Hey Roxie," he said. Roxas turned around and saw a smile on Axel's face. Not a smirk, or an impish grin, a real smile. "I missed you."

Roxas quickly turned around to hide the flush he knew had seized his face and swallowed loudly. He waited until he was composed to face Axel again.

"You know you don't _have _to go to the party tomorrow," Roxas said, remembering Namine's invitation. Roxas suspected his girlfriend had a hidden motive in inviting Axel.

Axel only scoffed.

"Your girlfriend's not scaring me off that easily," he said, "I'll be seeing you at that thing tomorrow."

Roxas rolled his eyes and fought back the urge to smile as he entered his apartment completely.

"Tomorrow then," Roxas said, "bright and early Professor."

"Yeah," Axel agreed.

Roxas had turned to go in his apartment completely when he suddenly remembered.

"Oh!" he called, turning around (a bit surprised to see Axel hadn't moved at all). "Happy birthday."

And with that, he quickly retreated into his home, seeking an escape from the unwanted effects from Axel that he was beginning to feel more heavily.

* * *

**So a lil relationship building going on for you guys…**

**For the record, the date for the majority of the chapter is October 12****th**** And Axel is now 24. (the old geezer) Lyra is 21.  
**

**Uh, was there something I wanted to tell you guys? No I don't think so, OH, thanks for the 300 hundred reviews!! Even though technically my 299****th****, and 300****th**** were the same person… --eyes Nathalie-- thank you all!**

**If I set a goal like… 335 for this next chapter, would u guys meet it for me? :3**


	15. XV

**Dammit I hate it when anonymous reviewers say something I want to respond to. This is to "LS". You were very right about Naminé's name, the accent should have gone the other way, I just thought "Naminè" looked better in quotations than "Naminé". I'm stupid like that.**

**And I didn't think about the autocorrect feature until like, three chapters ago, by which time I had already said "Namine" a gazillion times. Maybe one day when I'm feeing particularly un-lazy, I'll go thru and replace all the Namines with Naminés. Maybe.**

**And thank u for the review. :3 thank all of u. there were so many!**

**Sry Paopu, :( i was gonna miss my dead line so i had my bff/lesbian lover nathalie beta. **

* * *

Roxas woke up Saturday morning, grimacing over the day ahead of him. He had a full day of classes, and a party he didn't really want to attend after those. He rolled over in his bed to check the time on his clock and was started when he saw bright blue eyes that almost mirrored his own staring straight at him.

Roxas sat bolt right up and retreated back as Sora, kneeling so that he was eye level with Roxas on his bed, smiled and stood up.

"Since when are you in the habit of sleeping shirtless?" he asked.

Roxas glowered at his brother and relaxed.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Roxas demanded, now taking the time to wipe the sleep from his face, "You couldn't just call? What if I slept with a knife under my pillow? You'd be dead."

Sora ignored Roxas' ranting as he flopped to a sit on the untidy bed.

"We never finished our conversation," Sora began, eyeing his brother with a mischievous smirk.

"You're not so eager to help me figure it out as you are nosy and wanna know what's going on for yourself," Roxas said pointedly at his brother's snooping.

Sora gasped dramatically.

"How could you think that of me that way?"

Roxas scoffed and climbed out of the bed, past Sora, and to his dresser to fish for something to wear for the day. He was running too late to take a shower.

He was also running too late to try and deal with Sora.

"I have class in 30 minutes Sora," Roxas said, fishing out a black button down polo shirt. It was wrinkled, but Roxas didn't really care.

"Ok," Sora replied, "so let's make this quick. Are you, or aren't you, attracted to Axel-- a man?"

Roxas trekked across the room into the hall way and made his way to the bathroom for his morning rounds: Bladder relief, hair combing, and tooth washing. When he came back Sora was still there, waiting patiently for an answer. Roxas ignored him and got dressed in his attire for the day-- until Namine's party at least.

Roxas sighed as he realized that he would be tied down in classes from 8 in the morning until four in the afternoon. When he thought about his first class, however, he couldn't, try as he might, to suppress the defiant feeling of slight anticipation for his first class.

Roxas shook his head to focus and looked around his room for his book bag.

"Looking for this?" Sora inquired, holding up the bag. When Roxas made to take it, however, Sora snatched it away and sat on top of it, "Answer my question first."

"Sora," Roxas said dangerously, "I don't have time for this."

"Then answer the question already."

"I don't see how the answer matters," Roxas said.

"It can open the door to your true self!" Sora said with widened eyes, "your gay self!"

"I'm not gay," Roxas answered, "I've had plenty of sex with Namine since she's been back--"

"OK! TMI!" Sora suddenly said, squeezing his eyes closed in what looked like painful fashion, "Then how about, even though the lot of you are a spit in the face to homosexuals, your bi-self."

Roxas folded his arms.

"I don't plan on breaking up with Namine, if that's what this is about," Roxas said.

Sora heaved a loud, heavy sigh and flopped backwards onto Roxas' bed.

"Why not!?" he demanded, "can't you see how awful she really is?"

"I must be looking through rose-colored glasses," Roxas said, and rolled Sora over and off of his book bag, "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got somewhere to be. I hope you'll behave more politely at the party tonight."

"I wouldn't even be going if your parents weren't making me," Sora huffed.

Roxas rolled his eyes and grabbed his shoes.

"Right," he said, slipping the sneakers on without untying them, "_my _parents."

"Look," Sora said, "the more you deny this, the bigger the explosions gonna be when it all blows up in your face."

"See you at the party tonight," Roxas said, leaving his brother there, completely dissatisfied. "And if you really wanna stick it to Mom and Dad, just bring Riku."

* * *

Today in class was the first time Roxas actually watched Axel teach. The first class, all he did was hand out papers. The second class Roxas missed, and the third class, Axel had called off.

Roxas wasn't sure if it was a biased opinion of his or not, but Axel was a particularly good professor. He didn't drawl when he spoke, he made jokes, and still got the material across effectively and efficiently. To top things off, he was very charismatic and the type of person who could hold your attention when he spoke even if he were giving a lecture on the travel patterns of a dust spec.

Though everything he was saying, Roxas already knew from his advanced placement physics class in high school, the blonde didn't take his eyes off Axel for one minute during the lecture.

Then lab came, and the entire class moved to a new, clean room with double desks and big giant windows. The project assigned required the majority of Roxas' attention-- especially since his lab partner was an idiot. The assignment was simple enough-- using a given formula and the mass of different balls to determine the trajectory of an object-- then launch and see if you were accurate. The majority of it was simple writing.

All the raven haired girl with too much make up on could do, however, was gawk at Axel and swoon loudly and conspicuously. When she wasn't doing that, she was leaning over to the desk behind her to talk to some friend of hers.

Roxas didn't complain. The sooner he was done with the lab, the sooner he could leave. He'd figured if that girl actually tried to help, she'd just end up getting in the way.

Still, even though trying to concentrate wholly on the assignment before him, Roxas couldn't help but notice that he was keeping track of where Axel was at all times. Axel was weaving in and out of the desks, presiding over all the activities and making sure no one lost an eye when it came to launching the balls. When Axel was heading towards Roxas' table, the idiot he was paired with quickly turned around and began playing with the launching mechanism, to pretend as though she were doing something, and Roxas stared steadfastly at his paper, double checking his calculations.

But when he heard a clacking sound being made from the launcher, he quickly looked up, in full alert mode.

"Could you not touch that please?" Roxas said, almost in a panic. If that girl threw off the angle at which the ball was to be thrown, all the numbers in his formulas would become wrong, and he'd have an easier time just re-doing all of it again than trying to find the exact angle at which it was already set.

She quickly backed away, and when Roxas relaxed again, he noticed a tall figure looming over him in front of his desk.

"How are things over here?" Axel asked, smirking down at Roxas.

When he saw the expression on Axel's face, Roxas briefly wondered if he had purposely paired him with the ditz just for kicks. He wouldn't put it past Axel.

"Peachy," Roxas said with a glare, and began staring back down at his paper.

He heard a chuckle from above and silently confirmed to himself that Axel _had _paired him with her on purpose. Roxas, however, possessed more sense than to act familiar with a teacher in class, or talk about someone behind their back in front of their face-- even if they might be slow in realizing that it was even an insult. Roxas had more sense.

"What?" Axel said, "Isn't June here a great partner?"

Roxas snatched his eyes from his paper and gave Axel a stupid look. Of course _he _wouldn't have enough sense to have this discussion later.

"She's fantastic," Roxas said firmly, trying to nip the conversation in the bud.

Axel's smirk persisted.

"I thought you might think so…"

Roxas watched as the first set of partners got up and left after turning in their papers on Axel's desk at the front of the classroom.

"June," Axel then said to Roxas, "How do you like our partner?"

"He's really smart," the girl said with a smile that made Roxas wonder how she managed to enroll in an advanced physics class.

Axel laughed and Roxas about had it.

"Axel…"

His name was said dangerously, warningly, and carefully.

The redhead froze and looked at Roxas, all hints of a smirk gone. With the gaze Axel was giving him, however, Roxas was scared that his plan would backfire on him. But the fake smile Axel liked to wear was back soon enough.

"Ok, ok," he laughed, "I'll stop teasing and let you get back to your work."

And with that he walked off just as the second pairing completed their work.

Roxas silently envied those with competent partners. If he got out early enough, he would have time to eat lunch before having to hurry to his English class.

Roxas looked up at the clock. It was 10:50. According to the class catalogue, this class was supposed to let out at 11:50. Then his English class started at 12. Olympus was a huge campus, and just trying to make it to that class online was a struggle enough.

Roxas looked up at June, who was more in the way than anything. She was sitting on the desk. Roxas told her to get off since her weight was changing the angle. Then when Roxas went to look for the next ball in the experiment, it took him almost two minutes to realize that June was fiddling with it while she was still talking to her friend behind her. She was just slowing the whole process, so at eleven o clock, Roxas just told her to leave.

"You know what," Roxas said, in as friendly a tone as he could generate, "You can go if you want to, I can stay here and finish up the assignment."

She looked at Roxas and her eyes got big with joy.

"Really, Boxer?" she asked excitedly, already beginning to pack her things. Roxas didn't know how anyone could confuse _Roxas _with _Boxer_, but decided he didn't care enough to correct the girl.

"Really," Roxas said.

"You're so sweet," she said, and suddenly leaned over and gave Roxas a quick peck on the cheek. Roxas was more angered than anything at this, because she wrinkled the papers on the desk as she did it. He kept smiling though and waved to her as she left the classroom.

There were just four groups left now, but by the time there were only three, Axel took notice of June's absence. Roxas was isolated in his little corner of the room, as the other two groups sat up in the front. Axel came over.

"Where's your partner?" he asked, scanning the classroom.

"Who knows?" Roxas said, trying to finish up the last of his calculations. One more launch and he would be done. Things had certainly sped up since June left.

Another group got up, turned in their paper, and left.

Roxas started putting numbers in his calculator, trying to ignore Axel. He was a bigger distraction than June, and Roxas just wanted to finish. Luckily (and suspiciously) Axel just stood there silently, looking at his work probably. When Roxas stood up to put the ball in the launcher, he noticed Axel grab his paper out.

"This isn't the method I taught," he said as the last group stood up.

"Bye Axel!" they called cheerily on their way out.

Axel returned a brief wave as Roxas committed to memory the distance the ball got before snatching his paper out of Axel's hands to write it down.

"I took a few short cuts," Roxas said, scribbling down the last mark he'd ever have to put on that paper. He handed it to back Axel then began packing his bags and putting away the materials.

He felt Axel's eyes on him the whole time.

"Why're you in such a hurry?" Axel asked Roxas as the younger man zipped around the room.

"I'm hungry," Roxas said, coming back for his backpack and glancing at the clock at the wall. 11:15. Roxas smiled to himself. That gave him plenty of time to eat.

"Let's have lunch together then," Axel suggested, leaning casually on the desk behind him.

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows, not sure if it was such a good idea for him.

"I'll be as un-maniacal as I possibly can," Axel pleaded.

Roxas wasn't quite certain what to think about that.

"Please?"

Roxas smiled and a small chuckle escaped his lips.

"I didn't even say no," he responded, "My next class starts at twelve."

Axel excitedly crossed the room to his desk to pack his own things. Roxas waited for him by the door.

* * *

Roxas stepped out of his last class for the day, Biology, at a quarter past five in the afternoon. The sky was orange, but it wasn't dusk, as Roxas walked to his car. He was thinking about, dreading really, the party to come. He wondered why Namine had invited Axel. Roxas could tell she was put out with him for causing him to cancel plans (plans she'd made on her own), and she had never been one to take things lying down.

These thoughts occupied his mind as he drove home, those and the memories of lunch earlier. Though untrue to his word of avoiding his usual psychosis, Roxas noticed that he didn't mind it as much as he originally had. He maybe even thought it to be an amusing quirk.

Then he shook his head in denial of the thought and drove the rest of the way home thinking only of what a moron he thought Axel was.

When Roxas was approaching his apartment, he arrived just in time to see Hayner step out, clad in his black and white tuxedo. His hair was gelled back and Roxas, six feet away, could smell his cologne.

Roxas coughed as he and Hayner neared one another, and waved the air in front of his face.

"Air out man," Roxas said in reference to his cologne, "why are you dressed so early? The party isn't for another two hours."

"Me and my date are going out to dinner first," Hayner said, adjusting his tie and ignoring the first part of Roxas' comment.

"There will be food _at _the party."

"Yes," Hayner nodded, "But we don't know what _kind _of food, so we'll eat just in case so we're not hungry the whole night."

Roxas laughed and just waved his friend off.

"Well have fun," Roxas said, walking around Hayner and towards the apartment, "And don't stain your shirt."

"Yeah yeah," he mumbled, walking away, "Pence, Olette, Sora, and Riku are all in there."

Roxas nodded in acknowledgment and stepped through his door to find a very crowded living room. He greeted the general population with a nod and set his book bag down on the side of the stairs.

"Hi Roxas," Olette said with a smile, "I just barely got your invitation yesterday. My mom forgot about it."

"No problem," he said, and noticed the dry cleaning bags beside her, "feel free to use the shower if any of you want-" then he remembered he was talking to two sets of couples in the room, "-individually. The party starts at seven, but I'll be leaving out around 6. Just be at the party when it starts."

They all mumbled something incoherent in consent and Roxas walked into the kitchen to look for a quick snack. When he reached the fridge, he heard some footsteps approaching him.

"Hi Sora," Roxas said, not bothering to look up.

"Hello, Roxas," Sora replied, "How was school today?"

"Fun filled beyond belief," Roxas said, latching on to some orange soda, "How was …whatever you do all day?"

"Me and Riku were out shopping all day," Sora said bitterly, "I swear, you'd think the 'girl' in the relationship would be the one who takes the longest time shopping. Riku took _forever_."

Roxas truly felt for Sora, having been in that situation more than enough times himself.

"You would think so, wouldn't you?" Roxas asked rhetorically, moving to get a cup from the cabinet.

"So are we ever going to finish this conversation?" Sora finally asked, "The sooner you admit the truth, the sooner I'll drop it."

"The only 'truth' you'll take is that I'm attracted to Axel," Roxas said, filling the cup to the brim.

"Because that _is _the truth," Sora replied.

Roxas put the soda back and turned to face his brother.

"If you really believe that, then why do you need to hear it from me?"

"I'm not the one who needs to hear it."

A loud silence ensued.

"The more repressed some things are, Roxas," Sora went on, "the stronger they become, until the time comes when you can't repress them anymore. So if you're as determined to Namine as you say you are, the best thing you could do is just _admit _that you are attracted to another man, get over it, and go have rich little babies, if that's what you decide you want."

Roxas stared at his brother long and hard, trying to find some fault with his logic, then inwardly swore. Why couldn't he have an idiot for a brother?

He opened his mouth to speak over and over, trying to will the words to escape.

"I…" he managed, "I…"

Sora looked like a kid on Christmas day.

"You…?"

"I'm…"

"A…" Sora helped. "You're a…"

"I'm a…"

"…trac…"

"…trac…"

"Mmhmm…"

"I'm… attracted…" Roxas said with determination, "to…"

"To?" Sora patiently edged on.

"Axel."

The sentence was completed and it hit Roxas like a bucket of ice cold water. Was he _really _attracted to Axel? Did that psychotic loon actually succeed? Roxas was lost in thought, enough so that he hadn't realized that Sora had retrieved and began drinking his soda until the cup was half empty.

"You should start getting ready for the party," Roxas said, shaking himself out of his reverie, and snatching the cup out of his brother's hand.

* * *

It was five minutes to six, and Roxas was showered, groomed, and properly dressed to have dinner at Buckingham Palace. He exited his apartment, which was now bustling with people hurrying to ready themselves, after grabbing his keys and his wallet.

Instead of heading to the parking lot, however, he turned and made his way over to Axel's apartment-- for only the second time, he realized. He'd barely knocked on the door, it seemed, when it flew open to reveal an extremely nicely dressed tall redhead.

Axel also adorned a black tuxedo, loosely, but not casually worn. His hair wasn't in it's usual style of dangerously spiky spikes, but was pulled back into one smooth, silk like pony tail with stray strands hanging in his face. It forced Roxas to remember the only other time he had seen Axel's hair so limp-- which was when the redhead was half naked and fresh out of the shower. **(1)**

Roxas coughed dramatically and turned away to hide his reddened face and looked back at Axel when he thought it was safe.

"You ok, Roxie?" Axel asked with an air of smugness, "Am I just that good looking?"

_Unfortunately_.

Roxas had no snappy come back, so instead he said nothing in response to that.

"I came over to see if you needed a ride to her house," he said, "I don't know if you remember the way."

Axel reached out and squeezed Roxas affectingly, rubbing his cheek against the soft blonde spikes.

"You're so cute!" Axel said, as Roxas struggled to free himself of his grasp.

When he finally succeeded, he quickly tried to fix his hair again as Axel laughed loudly.

"Geez," Roxas muttered. "Well do you want a ride or not?"

Axel retreated into his apartment momentarily, and stepped outside of it altogether (now adorned in a dark overcoat) and, after making sure it was locked, closed the door behind him.

"I was just on my way to coax one out of you," Axel replied as he and Roxas made their way to the parking lot.

"Of course you were," Roxas shook his head, "You enjoy being ridiculously early for things."

"Just mildly early," Axel corrected.

Against his own wishes, Roxas' eyes kept finding their way back to Axel as they walked to his car, taking in his appearance. He had a magnetic air about him that made it impossible for Roxas to stare elsewhere for too long.

"So what's the story behind your tattoos?" Roxas suddenly inquired, taking note of the particularly conspicuous markings.

Axel looked confused for a second before realizing what Roxas was referring to.

"Oh these?" he said once they reached Roxas car, "When I was 17 I took a pretty bad fall-- landed face first on a sharp, jagged rock."

He paused as Roxas unlocked the car and they got in.

"Ow," Roxas sympathized.

"Yeah, well, most of my face pretty much healed up flawlessly," Axel went on, "like the fall never happened. But right here," -he pointed to his left tattoo- "The scar just wasn't healing. So rather than living the rest of my life with some mar on my face, I got a tattoo over it. It didn't look symmetrical though, so I got a matching one over here."

He smiled as he pointed to his right tattoo.

Roxas revved the engine, eyeing Axel strangely.

"Uh huh…" he said, backing up, "Well, there's not a lot left you could say that would surprise me anymore."

Axel was the only person Roxas knew that would get one tattoo because he didn't want a scar to show-- and then another because the first one alone wasn't symmetrical.

The redhead smiled down at Roxas in response, and turned on the radio.

Traffic was horrible. Getting to Uptown Prideland on a good day took half an hour alone; throw rush hour traffic into the mix and things will get chaotic. Roxas had anticipated this, and so made plans to head out earlier.

But knowing that something is coming often does little to take the edge off of it. Still, with all the calmness of the ocean after a storm, Roxas dealt with his frustration.

The same could not be said of Axel, however, who complained all the way up to Namine's doorstep, which was currently guarded by two men who looked like they couldn't win a fight to save their lives. They each had clipboards (with a list of the invited guests, Roxas assumed) and conspicuously placed tasers on their belt buckles.

"Good evening Sirs," the one on the left greeted politely in a long, drawn out way, "May I have your names?"

"Roxas and Axel," Roxas said.

After a brief glance at the list, the man turned to open one of the giant double doors, stepped aside, and bowed as Axel and Roxas passed.

"_Thank you, Sir_," Axel said in a clear imitation of the man as he passed, causing Roxas to quickly pull him through the door in embarrassment.

"Moron," Roxas breathed as the entered the foyer, where more hired help was waiting to take their coats.

Once they'd taken Axel's coat, the held the next set of doors open for Roxas and Axel to pass through, and Roxas, though he had been to Namine's house several times, couldn't help but look around in astonishment.

The already elegant common room now had a gold radiance to it. The high ceilings seemed higher and the ornate furnishings somehow seemed fancier.

Coupled with the fact that the huge room was filled with impressively and formally dressed people made Roxas think for a second that he _was _having dinner at Buckingham Palace.

He was brought back to reality by Axel's loud and impressed whistle.

"Forget everything I've said about her, Roxie," Axel said, looking around the place, "this one's a keeper."

Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Just stay close, ok?" Roxas said, "And don't do anything to embarrass yourself."

_Or me…_

Axel saluted with a serious look on his face.

"Yes sir!" he said, "Prim and proper mode."

Roxas sighed and began to navigate his way through the masses of rich people in search of his girlfriend. He gave small and proper hellos to everyone he met on the way and politely introduced Axel each time-- as propriety would dictate he do.

And Axel was being as charming as ever the whole way, much to Roxas' relief. He was still searching for Namine when he suddenly heard a voice call out to him.

Roxas turned to see his parents approaching him.

"Hi honey," his mom said, giving him a hug and a kiss. Roxas returned her affection.

"Roxas," his Dad said, shaking hands with him.

Roxas remembered when he last spoke to these two, he was yelling at them. Apparently, they were all just going to pretend like nothing ever happened. Fine by Roxas.

Then Aulderman's eyes fell on Axel and a vague sense of recognition befell them.

"This is Axel," he said to his parents in reminder.

Aulderman laughed and shook Axel's hand.

"Yes of course," he said, "the one with the ribs. Hardly recognized you with your hair like that."

Axel laughed stiffly and politely and in a way that only someone who knew him could tell that he wasn't in the best of moods. Roxas didn't want to push his luck with Axel's good behavior and decided to get him away from the public as soon as possible.

"Have you seen Namine?" Roxas asked his parents.

They both shook their head.

"I don't think she's come down yet," Felicity answered, "I think she's going to make some grand entrance."

"That does seem like something Namine would do," Axel agreed with an edge to his voice.

"Well I'm going to keep looking just in case," Roxas smiled at his parents and walked away, grabbing Axel by the wrist to drag him with him. Roxas found a secluded area by the outrageously decorative punchbowl table and let go of Axel.

"You were doing so well," Roxas said, turning to face Axel.

Axel was wearing a cold look on his face, eyes averted, and arms folded.

* * *

**I don't usually just leave off in the middle of a chapter like that, with no sense of finality, and no blatant cliff hanger. But… there will be no finality until the end of the party. Lol. And that's not going to happen this chapter.**

**So that's the end of that. **

**(1) Chapter eleven.**

**Ladies and …ladies, the countdown to the end of Axis begins with this chapter. **

**Three more chapters left. super gasp**

**Four maybe if I find some way to stretch all things out in the most dramatic way possible. Lol**

**Reviews equal love equal happy author equal quicker updates.**


	16. XVI

Namine dies and Axel and Roxas have hot man secks for the rest of their lives! :D

**Jay kay jay kay. Lawl.**

**Sweet dreams are made of these, who am I to disagree? I travel the world and the seven seas. Everybody's looking for something. At any rate, a lot of p.o.v. switching in this chapter…**

**Oh, and kiddies, strap urselves in for the long haul. This chapter comes in at 6, 302 words. I wanted this chapter to be a surprise for everyone (including you, ms. Beta-reader) so I had it beta'd elsewhere. :D enjoy.**

* * *

"What?" Roxas sighed, looking up at Axel, "you were doing so well just a moment ago."

Axel looked at Roxas, as though he were debating over something.

"When did you make up with your parents?" he asked.

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Just now I guess," Roxas answered with a shrug. He'd never really had to make up with his parents, because he never did anything to make them angry before.

Axel's frowned deepened almost imperceptibly. Roxas didn't have much time to try and interpret that, however, because someone was calling from behind.

Roxas turned around to see Hayner approaching him, and the girl he had on his left arm stopped all speech Roxas might have been prepared to offer.

"Hey, Axel," Hayner smiled.

"Hayner" Axel replied calmly, "Kairi."

"_This_ is your mystery girl?" Roxas finally asked--sputtered more accurately.

"_This _is the best friend I always hear about?" Kairi asked in just as much shock as Roxas.

"You two already know each other?" Hayner asked, head darting from Kairi to Roxas in search of an answer.

"Kairi is Sora's best friend," Roxas sighed, "her and Sora went to the same school ever since 1st grade."(1)

After preschool, Roxas and Sora had never attended the same schools in their lives. Sora didn't pass the entrance exam to get into the prep school that Roxas was admitted to; otherwise they probably would have never formed friends outside of themselves.

"Small world," Hayner chuckled.

Roxas was still trying to get over the shock.

"Well I guess we're off then," Hayner announced.

"Wait," Roxas interrupted, "Where are you going? I'm the only person you know here. Besides Namine."

"Yeah," Hayner affirmed, "But I plan to change that tonight. All these rich people here, all the connections. In this world, it's not about what you can do; it's all about who you know."

Roxas shook his head as Hayner went off into the crowd of elegant guests.

"I want you," Roxas began, turning back to face Axel, "to cheer up again. You were the one who accepted this invitation. At least _pretend _to enjoy yourself while you're here."

Axel, whose eyes were widened a little bit, kept his arms folded in a pout and looked away.

Roxas sighed at Axel and decided to just hang out at the punchbowl until Namine came down.

* * *

"I want you," Roxas began, suddenly turning on his heels to face Axel. The words made Axel's heart skip a beat and his eyes widen, "-to cheer up again." The tension was relieved immediately. "You're the one who accepted this invitation. At least _pretend _to enjoy yourself while you're here."

Axel looked away. He thought he was pretending. Did everyone notice the bad mood he suddenly found himself in, or was it just Roxas?

This night was proving to be a lot harder than he had anticipated it to be. Axel was forced to listen to Roxas say his name over and over (during the introductions) and _not _have his way with him right then and there. On top of that, they'd run into the bastards that had made him so upset that one night-- and then they just pretend like nothing ever happened?

Axel was angrier over the situation than Roxas.

The blonde was right, however, and Axel made up his mind not to be pissed for Roxas' sake. So he took up a relaxed pose beside the boy and started staring in the same general direction as him- which was at the giant stare case just outside of the crowded common room.

"She's just letting the crowd get excited," Axel commented, "She's probably been ready since two this afternoon.

Roxas threw Axel a mean glare, but said nothing. Roxas noticed, however, that the boy was now looking pointedly everywhere _except _at the staircase. Axel chuckled a little.

"Hanging out at the punchbowl is a little anti-social, isn't it Roxie?" Axel asked, pouring himself some punch, and wordlessly offering Roxas some.

Roxas declined just as silently.

"This isn't my atmosphere really," Roxas said, checking his watch. "I didn't even know people still bothered with these sorts of parties until I met Namine."

"Same here," Axel said, and took a swig of his punch, only to spit it back out into his cup.

The sudden act caused Roxas' eyes to widen in surprise, and look around to see if any passer-bys had witnessed the act.

"What? What is it?" Roxas asked, worry in his tone.

Axel peered down at the crimson contents of his cup incredulously.

"It's alcoholic," he said, and considered whether or not to dump his cup full back into the main punchbowl.

"Don't even think about it," Roxas warned, catching Axel's shifting gaze from the punchbowl to his cup.

"Then do you want it?" Axel asked Roxas.

"And drink your backwash?" Roxas tuned his face up at the thought, "No thank you."

"Then back it goes," Axel shrugged, and was about to pour it in when Roxas snatched the cup out of his hand.

"Psycho," Roxas muttered, looking around (Axel assumed for a trashcan).

"Again with the verbal abuse?" Axel asked, "I thought we had moved past that part of our relationship, Roxie."

"I thought you were going to act normal," Roxas countered, ultimately just deciding to hold onto the cup.

"Welcome, everybody!"

The high pitched, frilly voice of Roxas' slave driver sounded throughout the room.

Both Roxas and Axel looked up to see a picturesque family of three standing in the entrance way. The tall (but not taller than Axel, of course), broad shouldered, bespectacled man, the equally as statuesque, made-up, thin figured woman, and the innocent looking, radiant beauty in between them-all elegantly dressed of course.

"I want to thank you all for finding the time to come out here tonight to welcome us home."

Axel wondered why it was that the parents were allowing the child to do all the talking.

"And a special thanks to Uncle Marluxia for organizing this whole event," she concluded with a huge smile on her face. At that time, some (short) man with long, purplish pink hair made his way through the crowd and stood beside Namine and her parents.

"You're as sweet as ever, Namine," the man called Marluxia smiled back. "I'm sure everyone here is happy to have you, Norma and Nicolai back in form."

Axel resisted the urge to promptly correct the man of his wrongful assumption, but decided that the repercussions he would face from Roxas weren't worth it. So Axel held his tongue as the man with the colorful hair continued on with his mandatory "welcome back, we all missed you" speech.

"And so," he began his conclusion, "l hope you all enjoy the festivities in honor of their homecoming."

The crowd gave their polite applause as the golden four melted into the rest of the crowd.

"Come on," Roxas' voice came, and Axel dutifully followed as Roxas navigated his way through the crowd again towards where he had seen his girlfriend disappear to.

They found her in the center of a small crowd (go figure), chatting away. When her eyes landed on Roxas, however, she immediately gasped and begged the crowd's pardon as she politely excused herself. She bustled over (with the utmost of grace) in her shimmering white Fermat gown that stopped around her calves.

Axel found himself wishing immaturely that Namine had been born an uglier girl.

"Roxas!" she squealed excitedly and kissed the shorter man quickly on the lips. "I missed you all day, and all yesterday too!"

At that last phrase, Axel could swear that the spoiled brat threw him something resembling a glare. The idea both angered and amused Axel.

Angered because that hypocritical bitch had kept Roxas away from him for the entire week. And amused him because he was more than happy to agitate her.

Axel smiled and received Namine warmly: with the hug of two people who had known each other forever.

She played along with the façade.

"Glad you could make it," she said to Axel.

"Your home is lovely," Axel said politely, pretending as though Roxas hadn't brought him to the place before.

She smiled in response before turning back around and bumping into Roxas arm-the arm that was holding onto the punch Axel refused to drink. And simple physics would allow anyone to conjecture the outcome from the simple series of events:

Stupid girl bumps into Roxas' arm.

Roxas' arm moves.

The cup inside of Roxas' hand shifts.

The liquid inside of the cup spills-onto Roxas' shirt.

Namine gasped in horror.

"Oh my goodness!" she said dramatically, "I'm such a klutz. I'm so sorry!"

Roxas looked down to see the nice vibrantly red stain against the white of his shirt. Namine flagged over one of the caterers, then took the cup out of Roxas' hand and gave it to the caterer, all the while still muttering her apologies to Roxas.

"It's ok, Namine," Roxas assured, not looking in the least bit pissed off, put out, or upset in anyway. "I'm just going to go to the bathroom to see what I can do about this."

Roxas trudged off, leaving a flustered Namine, and Axel happily followed him, very amused with the most recent passing of events.

They left the common room, and out into the wide hallway and passed through another set of double doors into a bathroom that was bigger than Axel's living room. Axel looked around at the ivory marble that graced nearly every flat surface in the bathroom and saw a wide bathtub with room for at least five, and off to the side was a glass encased shower. There was another door that led to the separate toilet area, Axel assumed.

Axel shook his head at the mere elegance of the _bathroom_ and followed Roxas to the wide counter where two sinks were embedded and leaned against the granite countertops.

Was there anything these people didn't do in (ridiculously expensive) style?

Roxas reached down into the cabinets beneath the sink to pull out a towel. He wet the small cloth and began scrubbing vigorously.

Axel watched him through the giant mirrors above the sinks.

"It would probably be easier if you took your shirt off to do that," Axel suggested.

Roxas threw Axel a wary look, a distrusting look.

"Oh, come on," Axel said, "Don't you wear an undershirt with that sort of outfit? A wife beater? Anything?"

Roxas looked put out for a second.

"Just don't try anything…" Roxas said after a few moments, and proceeded to take off his jacket. He threw that off to the other end of the counter, took off his tie, and began unbuttoning his white dress shirt.

Axel found it very odd that Roxas didn't wear a single thing underneath his white dress shirt, but said nothing as Roxas began to vigorously scrub at the offending stain.

Axel couldn't help but let his eyes wander along the shorter male's exposed skin, drinking in every detail. The movement of Roxas' arms caused his whole body to move in a dangerously inviting fashion. Axel knew that if he wanted to adhere to Roxas' request, that he should immediately tear his eyes away from him and his bear body.

But Axel's eyes simply wouldn't allow that.

Despite himself, and what he knew was right, Axel kept looking, kept upping the temptation, and kept bring himself closer to giving in.

But it was Roxas who sealed his own fate, in the end, when he pulled away from his shirt and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. The sight was enough to send Axel's pathetic attempts at self control crashing.

Axel reached over and grabbed the startled blonde by his waist with one hand, and slid his hair through his spikes with the other. Roxas only had time to gasp before Axel leaned down and kissed him with a fervor he hadn't known in a long time. Skipping the entreating phase of the kiss, Axel took advantage of Roxas' startled gasp to explore his mouth with his tongue.

Roxas made a made a sound resembling a moan, but Axel was sure it was meant in protest.

He didn't stop, however, and deepened the kiss, pulling Roxas' body as close to his as was possible.

When he was finally running out of air, Axel began to pull back, retracting his tongue and resorting to faint tugs on Roxas' bottom lip.

Quickly remembering the situation, Axel pulled away altogether and made for the door, thanking his lucky stars that the Roxas hadn't hit him or anything during the kiss. He was too afraid to look back at him on his way out.

"I'm going to go schmooze a little," Axel said, and left the bathroom, trying his hardest to recollect his lost composure.

Almost immediately upon re-entering the room where all the party members were, Axel ran into Roxas' brother, accompanied by his silent body guard.

"Hey!" Sora said excitedly to Axel, "I didn't know you were gonna be here. Where's Roxas.

"Slav- Namine spilled something on his shirt," Axel answered, and pointed in the direction of the bathroom, "Roxas is in the bathroom trying to scrub it clean."

Sora was looking up at Axel impishly, as though he knew something. Could he tell what Axel had just done? Was Axel a lot more readable than he thought he was?

"What?" Axel asked.

"Oh," Sora said, snapping out of some train of thought, "It's nothing. I'm going to go say 'hi' to Roxas now."

And on that note, Sora and Riku followed in the direction that Axel had pointed.

* * *

Roxas was frozen in place, with widened eyes, still trying to register exactly what had happened. His lips were still hot from Axel's kiss, and his face was flushed over.

Almost by reflex, he brought his fingers to his lips. He wasn't so mortified Axel's actions, so much as he was by his own reaction to them. If Axel hadn't pulled away when he did, Roxas was positive that he would have started to kiss him back. If Axel's lungs had had just a fraction of a second's worth of air left over, Roxas would have began kissing Axel back with the same zeal with which he was kissed.

And the thought sent shivers up and down Roxas' spine.

Axel's uninvited kisses never used to have that effect on him.

He was still frozen in his daze when he heard a knock on the door.

"Roxas?" he heard Sora's voice come through the door.

Roxas shook his head out of his trance.

"It's open."

Sora cracked the door open and stuck his head through the crack.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

"Go ahead," Roxas replied, turning back to the sink to get out the last hints of pink in his shirt.

Sora entered the room completely and closed the door behind him.

"You look guilty," Sora observed as Roxas began drying his shirt out. Roxas' heart nearly stopped at the word and he turned on his brother wildly.

"He started it!" Roxas claimed defensively, earning a surprised look from Sora.

"Who started what?" Sora asked suspiciously.

Roxas felt his face heat up again and he got back to trying to dry his shirt out. If he closed his jacket all the way, maybe the fact that it was a little wet wouldn't be so conspicuous.

Roxas' silence made Sora even more suspicious and even more curious.

"Roxas?" Sora pried.

"What?" Roxas asked, getting dressed again.

"What just happened?"

Roxas silently adjusted his tie.

"Namine spilled some of that punch on my shirt," Roxas answered, reaching for his jacket. "Luckily the stain came out."

Sora folded his arms.

"Was Axel just in here with you?" Sora inquired.

Roxas wondered if his brother could hear his heart beat quicken, but only continued to adjust his cuffs.

"Yes," he answered truthfully, "But he said he's gone to 'schmooze' now."

"You know," Sora began agitatedly, "things that aren't really a big deal in the first place can become big deals if the person is stingy with the information."

When Roxas was finished redressing himself, he turned to face his brother, and tried to gather the words he would use.

"He kissed me," Roxas admitted, refusing to meet Sora's gaze directly.

"Oh My God!" Sora gasped, "_Again_?"

Roxas tried to stay collected in spite of Sora's reaction.

"Yeah," Roxas replied.

The shock on Sora's face became, if possible, even more prominent."What!" he exclaimed. "When! How! Why am I just now finding out about this!?"

"Because it just happened! It's not like they mean anything," Roxas said, "He's never had to exert any self control in his life. He does whatever he wants whenever it suits him."

"W-well how do you react to them?" Sora asked.

Roxas started towards the door. How could he answer that question? He'd reacted differently on all three occasions. The first time he socked Axel, the second time the kiss was so short, he didn't have to react at all, and just now…

He didn't know how to explain any of it to Sora.

"Differently," Roxas settled on.

* * *

The band had been called to duty, so there was a huge clearing in the middle of the room that was speckled with dancing couples, and the majority of the guest formed the crowd around them. Axel could barely reach the far side of the common room before he heard a familiar (and loathed voice call his name).

"Axel," Namine called. Axel turned around to see her standing there with a worried look on her face. "Where's Roxas? Is the stain coming out of his shirt?"

Axel realized that once the shirt had come off of Roxas' body, he hadn't glanced at it once, so he didn't know the answer to Namine's question.

"I'm not sure," he answered, then extended his hand out towards her, "Care to dance?"

She looked shocked by his sudden inquiry, but assented no less.

They weren't out on the dance floor for more than a minute when the music took a turn for something slow paced. Axel adjusted their positions and they began to sway back and forth, not really moving much.

"Roxas really is a great guy," she began in a dreamy sort of voice, "He's loyal, obedient, and trustworthy. I'm always afraid someone's going to swoop in and snatch him from me."

Axel said nothing as Namine described Roxas like a dog.

"I just never thought it would be another guy who tried to do it," she went on, "Hayner doesn't even hang around Roxas as much as you do."

Axel smiled a bit.

"What are you upset because your iron fist grip on him is loosening?" Axel asked, spinning her in beat with the music, "you're upset because when you let him out of your sight for just three weeks, he started developing free will."

Namine said nothing immediately.

"You shouldn't try and wedge yourself between us," Namine warned.

"Shouldn't you have more faith in your relationship than that?" Axel asked, dipping her.

"I have plenty of faith," she replied, "but nothing gets done without a little action."

"Well said," Axel agreed, "But if you have so much faith, I wonder why you keep such a short leash on Roxas. Maybe it's because if you give him a second to himself to see what he's really missing by staying with you, he'll decide he doesn't need to put up with your bullshit anymore."

Namine was silent once again.

It caught Axel's eye as soon as Roxas walked in the room, followed closely by Sora and Riku, but Axel didn't have time to excuse himself from the dance before he suddenly heard Namine scream.

In a blur of movements, Axel found himself on the ground on all fours, hovering above Namine, who screamed again in their new positions.

"Someone, help!"

Two seconds hadn't passed before Axel felt two pairs of hands clasp firmly onto his arms. Axel was confused for a second before he realized what she was pulling, and he didn't even bother resisting the security.

"Get him out of here!" she said, beginning to sob a little. She was a good actress, Axel would give her that.

Just as he was being ushered away, he saw Roxas run up beside his girlfriend, looking at Axel in utter confusion.

"Wait, wait a second," he beckoned, but the guards didn't stop dragging Axel away.

Roxas watched Axel as he was being led to the door, but the last thing he heard was him asking her about what had happened.

Axel sighed and wondered what lies she was going to tell Roxas and how hard it would be to convince him that they were in fact lies. When Axel and the two hefty guards were finally outside, they let him go (rather roughly) and went back inside the house.

Axel decided not to call a cab home, but to wait by Roxas' car until the end of the party so he could explain the truth to him when he came out.

* * *

"Namine," Roxas began, at a complete loss for what was going on. Everything was quiet, the music had stopped, and everyone was staring at Namine, on the ground, and Roxas standing beside her.

"It was Axel," she said through tears, "he- he tried to-"

Roxas looked down at her in confusion, waiting her for to finish her sentence.

"He _what_?" Roxas asked, knowing for a fact that there was no way Axel could have tried to pull anything with Namine.

"He," her voice broke, "he tried to have his way with me."

Roxas stared down at her for a second in disbelief.

"But when I told him no," she went on, "he got violent."

It was suddenly clear to Roxas.

"I see," he said, and reached down to help Namine up off the ground. "That's… very unfortunate."

Namine, once on her feet, began to cry into Roxas' chest. Roxas held her for a second before pulling away and beginning to head for the door.

"W-wait," she began, "Roxas, where are you going?"

Roxas turned around to face her, and looked at her as though the answer were obvious.

"I'm going home," he answered, "And I was Axel's ride, so I have to take him home too."

Namine's eyes widened.

"But he just-"

"Namine," Roxas cut her off, before she could disgrace herself any further, "Maybe we should have this conversation another time."

She frowned as tears continued to flow.

"But you're going to go help the man who just tried to violate your girlfriend," she said indignantly.

Roxas sighed.

"There are two things wrong with your story, Namine," Roxas began, "First of all, contrary to how he behaves, Axel is not an idiot. If he were going to try and rape you, it wouldn't be in front of all these people. And second, Axel is gay."

The look on Namine's face was utter horror.

"Roxas, I-"

"It's alright, Namine," Roxas said, "I'm not angry, just a little ashamed. I think to save a little face, you should probably stop talking now."

* * *

Axel looked at his watch. It had only been two minutes since he'd gotten thrown out, and not even an hour into the party. He had a long wait ahead of him.

Axel posted himself on the hood of Roxas' car and decided to stare at the stars while he waited for him. Axel decided to spend the time crafting the most convincing way to tell Roxas that his girlfriend was a lying bitch.

"Hey."

The voice made Axel start and he immediately sat straight up on the car. Roxas was standing there in front of his car, staring at Axel.

"Roxas!" he said in surprise, wondering what he was doing out here so early.

Roxas disarmed his car and opened the driver's side.

"Could you drive on the way back?" Roxas asked, extending his keys out for Axel to take, "I don't really feel like driving right now."

Axel slid off the car and took the keys. Roxas went around to the passenger side as Axel got into the driver's seat, and just sat there, staring warily at Roxas.

"Are we just going to sit here all night?" Roxas demanded.

"Uh… I didn't try to rape your girlfriend?" Axel tried.

Roxas smiled at Axel.

"I know," he said, "I don't think she factored homosexuality into that story of hers."

Axel couldn't help but smiled back as those stunningly blue eyes stared back at him.

"So… you didn't doubt me for a second?" Axel asked, starting the car.

Roxas looked forward, pensively.

"Not for an instant," he replied, mostly to himself.

Axel, who was insanely happy with that news, didn't press the matter, and the two of them rode silently back to Twilight Townhouses. Once they were in front of Roxas' apartment, he looked down at his watch.

"Not even eight thirty," he said, and unlocked his door. "Are you coming in?"

Axel felt his heart skip a beat.

This was the very first time Roxas had actually invited him into his apartment, offhanded and casual as that invitation might be.

When Axel just stood in the doorway, however, Roxas looked back at him strangely.

"The one time I _do _invite you in and you don't come?" Roxas asked.

Axel took his time and crossed the threshold in the most dramatic fashion he could muster, taking his time and savoring the moment of entering Roxas' house as an invited guest.

"Excuse me if I want to make the most of this moment," Axel said, once he was in the house, "but I've never been _welcomed_ into this place before."

Roxas rolled his eyes and kicked off his shoes began de-formalizing himself.

Axel watched as the jacket of his tuxedo flew onto the couch, followed by his tie, and the first three buttons of his shirt were undone. It was all a little too erotic for Axel, watching this.

He suddenly had the urge to start undressing when he suddenly remembered something.

"Those bastards kept my coat!" he exclaimed angrily.

Roxas laughed.

"I'll go get it tomorrow. You can go over to your apartment if you wanna change," Roxas said, going into the kitchen, "How about I make dinner?"

Axel decided he didn't feel like leaving Roxas just yet, not matter for how short the time.

"You can cook?" Axel asked, following Roxas' process of undressing. The differences between Axel's ensemble from Roxas' was that Axel had on a black shirt underneath his jacket, and suspenders. Axel slung the jacket to his tux over on the couch and followed Roxas into the kitchen.

"You didn't know?" Roxas inquired, eyes scanning the inside of the refrigerator, "I am the undisputed master of cereal and milk pouring."

"Ah," Axel nodded, scrunching the long sleeves of his black shirt up to his elbows, "I think I do remember hearing something about that. However, as undisputed as your culinary skills are, why don't you let me handle things in here?"

Roxas didn't protest at all.

"Whatever you can find," the blonde answered, treading past Axel to take a seat at the dining table.

Years of having to fend for his sister and himself had left Axel endowed with more than enough kitchen skills. He made his way over to the refrigerator to see what was there.

Roxas was being, Axel thought, particularly friendly that night. As Axel prepared dinner (he found the needed items for spaghetti), Roxas talked in the most friendly manner Axel had ever heard from him.

Once the final result was done, Axel piled two helpings on two plates each, and set one in front of Roxas and the other down in the spot for himself. The last thing Axel did before sitting down to eat was pour some soda for he and Roxas to have with their dinner.

"Mm," Roxas said excitedly, "cooked food. I've never eaten that in _this_ place."

Axel laughed.

Minutes passed, each enjoying dinner after a day of practical starvation, when Axel noticed a fly land on the table right between his and Roxas' plates. A collision of hands and the spillage of one cup of soda resulted, however, when both Axel and Roxas moved to swat the fly away.

Axel's cup of orange soda spilled all over Roxas' wrist and hand. If the latter hadn't folded his sleeves up in a similar fashion to Axel's before eating, his shirt would have been stained again.

"I guess tonight isn't my night," Roxas sighed, standing up and began idly licking at the mess on his hand.

Axel was sure Roxas wasn't aware of exactly how he looked, but it seemed like Roxas was really trying him today.

Axel watched in inescapable captivation as Roxas continued on, and finally did to hell with his self control. Again.

He stood up and pulled Roxas into another passionate kiss. This time, it tasted more like the spaghetti and less like Roxas, but that only made Axel want even more.

He kissed the boy until he felt him backed up against some wall, somewhere in the house, and practically pried his lips apart to grant himself entrance. Logic and sense were fleeting, and all he knew was that he wanted Roxas.

He felt Roxas' hands come up to his chest, to push him away of course, and some of that sense returned to him. Roxas didn't feel the same way he did. Axel was taking the last seconds to pull away when he suddenly felt a response from Roxas.

Axel felt the hands on his chest ball into fistfuls of his shirt and Roxas pull him closer.

Axel's eyes widened in surprise, but he made no further efforts to resist. He pulled mouth away from Roxas' and trailed kisses down his neck. Axel wasn't quite sure what was going on, or if this was even real, but he didn't want to take any chances of Roxas suddenly coming to his senses and deciding against it.

Axel slid his hands under Roxas' un-tucked shirt and began caressing the smooth expanse of skin, mouth still focused on Roxas' neck. He could feel Roxas' heavy breaths against his ear. That sensation alone was enough to get Axel excited.

He leaned back up and captured Roxas' lips again, deciding he didn't want to give him enough time to think about anything other than what his body was feeling.

* * *

Roxas didn't know what the hell was going on anymore. One second he was getting the soda off his hand, and suddenly he found himself up against a wall, with Axels tongue in his mouth. On his neck. And his hands were beneath his clothes.

But none of that was as shocking to Roxas as his responses to it. He'd tried to resist or at least, he TRIED to try. Placing his hands against Axel's chest had backfired horribly. Roxas had tried not to respond, but his body had betrayed him. In his mind, he knew exactly what he should be doing at the moment.

His mind and his body were no longer consulting one another. Because his mind was telling him to push the psycho off of him, but his body was only encouraging him. Roxas' traitorous body was melting under Axel's touch. It was defying his mind to try and stop Axel.

Somehow or another, the two of them ended upstairs in Roxas bedroom by which time, Roxas had already lost his shirt.

His chest felt heavy and his voice was failing him. His breathing was now panting, and his pants were feeling particularly tight as Axel pushed him down onto the bed. Axel's skilled hands worked all along Roxas' stomach, and to his chest. The taller man leant down and covered one of Roxas' nipples with his mouth.

Roxas' voice suddenly decided to return in the form of a low moan as Axel's tongue rolled over it. Roxas threw his head back, reveling in the sensations that Axel was giving him-while still not fully grasping the situation. He couldn't think with complete clarity. It seemed that every time he got close to something resembling a thought, Axel did something like kiss him passionately, or nibble at his ear, kiss his way down his chest, or (Roxas' unspoken favorite) swirl his tongue inside his naval.

Roxas couldn't remember having ever felt so good. He'd never experienced anything like it. Those times with Namine seemed dull in comparison.

Axel himself looked more attractive to Rosas than ever before, as he hovered above Roxas, doing nothing but staring into his eyes. The straps of his suspenders were hanging at his side, and his black shirt was fully unbuttoned. It gave Roxas a view of the bandages he had wrapped around his torso, and something like guilt surfaced in Roxas, among all the other emotions.

Reflexively, almost, Roxas reached up touched the injury. He felt Axel shudder at his touch and felt himself aroused even more. Then one of Axel's hands found its way to undoing Roxas pants.

Axel reached into Roxas boxers (once the pants were gone) eliciting a small gasp from the latter. As Axel began to stroke, however, the gasps quickly turned to moans that Roxas didn't have the power to keep from escaping.

The moans grew shamefully louder as Roxas neared his climax.

He heard himself whisper Axel's name, but was unsure if Axel himself heard the embarrassing comment.

When Roxas came he came hard, and couldn't do much but lay there as the after shocks of his orgasm glided over him.

When Roxas next laid eyes on Axel, he realized that both he and the redhead were already fully undressed, and Axel was peering down at Roxas with a torn look on his face.

Roxas reached up to smooth out the crinkle between Axel's eyebrows to get rid of the depressing expression.

"Roxas," Axel said in a tone that made Roxas freeze all movements. "Are you sure about this?"

Roxas wasn't sure about anything at that point, but he knew that he wanted Axel to finish what he started, and so gave Axel the smile and the nod he was looking for.

Axel leaned down and kissed Roxas, as Roxas soon found out, to distract him from the sudden intrusion of one of Axel's fingers.

Roxas whimpered,_ whimpered_, into the kiss and tried to adjust himself to the foreign digit. It wasn't long before Axel stuck a second in and began scissoring and stretching Roxas in somewhat of a painful fashion.

Roxas noticed that Axel's hand was already slick, and the thought of exactly what Axel was using in lieu of lubrication made Roxas (if it were possible) color a deeper shade of crimson.

When Axel withdrew his fingers, he suddenly and without warning, replaced it with something much longer and much thicker that no fingers could have prepared Roxas for.

"Ahn," Roxas cried as Axel thrust all the way in on the first go. After that he paused and gave Roxas time to recover. Axel waited for the nod from Roxas before pulling out to slam back in again.

Roxas moaned each time Axel thrust into him, but it wasn't until a few thrusts into the ordeal that the moans became moans of pleasure. And then Axel slammed into something that one of Roxas' moans into a scream.

So Axel slammed into Roxas again at exactly the same angle, trying (and succeeding) to merit the same reaction. Roxas screamed over and over as Axel hit the same spot again and again, each time with more force than before. He hardly had time to be embarrassed by the noises he was making, and they were _loud _noises, before he felt himself nearing his climax again.

Roxas wasn't sure if it was his thoughts or if he was actually screaming Axel's name out, he hoped it was the former. With one particularly forceful thrust from Axel straight into Roxas' prostate, Roxas went over the edge, screaming louder than ever before as he did, spilling his semen all over his and Axel's stomach.

A few more pumps from the redhead reached his own orgasm, shooting his seed into Roxas. With feeble efforts at cleaning up, Axel pulled out of Roxas, earning a sharp gasp from the blonde, and collapsed on the bed beside him.

Roxas' eyes were closed, but he could feel Axel's eyes on him. His eyelids were heavy with exhaustion, and he felt sleep rapidly approaching. The last memory Roxas had before dozing off was of a pair of soft lips pressed gently against his own.

* * *

Axel's eyes opened against the wishes of Axel's mind, to the searing sunlight peeking in through the open blinds of the only window in the room. Axel rolled over and tried to close his eyes again, but the memories of last night sent him sitting bolt upright into the foreign bed.

Axel looked around, but there was no sign of Roxas. Axel stole a glance at the clock (which read 11:23 AM) and quickly got up and dressed himself in a somewhat presentable fashion before hastily exiting the small bedroom. As soon as he left the room, he bumped into a smaller body.

When his eyes focused, they saw Hayner there, looking thoroughly shocked.

"Axel," Hayner said, "What are you doing here? Coming out of Roxas' room?"

"I… accidentally fell asleep here last night," Axel lied, "Where's Roxas?"

Hayner frowned.

"You mean you slept through all the squeals this morning?" he asked, "Him and Namine went to Deaux this morning."

Axel frowned in confusion.

"The jewelry store?"

"Mhmm," Hayner confirmed.

"Why?" Axel asked.

"You seriously didn't hear her this morning?" Hayner asked with narrowed eyes, "Namine came over early this morning and Roxas proposed to her."

* * *

**Of course something had to go wrong. :D**

**and yes, i had the classic hand licking scene in there to get the other man turned on. What can i say? if its overdone, its cuz it works every time. ;D**

**Plz review.**


	17. XVII

**Lol. Hey. I'm sure you were all very pleased with the events of the last chapter, no? That last chapter even dragged a few of you non-reviewers out from your shadows.**

**I'll stop babbling now, as im sure ur all eager to know exactly what the fuck Roxie-poo is thinking. Only one of you reviewers got it right. (kudos to you Chibi Drigger)**

**Oh, and let me just clarify—Namine didn't know that Axel was gay. She was only thinking of him in friendly terms towards Roxas; which is why she compared him to Hayner. Namine isn't nice, but she's not particularly stupid.**

* * *

Roxas sat, or was trying to sit, on the couch of his parents' living room. Felicity and Aulderman sat on the couch across from him and Sora sat beside him.

"What is it, Roxas?" Aulderman asked, checking his wrist watch, "I have to be heading to the hospital soon."

"Namine and I are engaged," Roxas announced.

Roxas' mom immediately stood up in joy and clasped her hands together in excitement.

"Yes!" she exclaimed happily, walking over and squeezing Roxas, "After last night I was afraid that-- Oh I've been waiting for this day! I've got some phone calls to go make."

And their mother pulled her cell phone, fingers whizzing over the keypad, and made her way to the back yard for privacy, closing the sliding glass doors behind her.

Aulderman smiled and stood up to shake Roxas' hand.

"Congratulations, son," he beamed, "I wish you two the best of luck. We'll have dinner in celebration tonight."

Roxas nodded and tried to return the smile as best he could. Once Aulderman had left for work, he felt the silence in the room suddenly grow at a deafening rate.

Roxas was afraid to look over at Sora, afraid to stare his brother in the eyes, so Sora took it upon himself.

"What the hell!" Sora demanded, reaching over, grabbing a chunk of blonde hair, and forcing Roxas to face him. "How could you propose to that man-eating woman after what she tried to pull last night!"

"It's called forgiveness," Roxas responded, "Something every couple should exhibit once and a while. She made a mistake and I've forgiven her for it."

Roxas pulled Sora's hand out of his hair and tucked his leg under his butt to try and minimize the pain.

"Ok…" Sora said, "But even if you decided to forgive her… did you have to _propose _to her--" Sora's face suddenly grew horrified—"did _she _propose to _you_?"

"No!" Roxas frowned, "I'd been thinking about it for a while anyway."

Sora looked skeptical.

"Did something happen last night that you're not telling me?"

Roxas wondered what his odds were in trying to lie to Sora. He was never a particularly good liar to begin with; especially not to Sora.

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked, shifting a little in his seat.

"I mean," Sora began, "did something happen that could cause you- oh for the love of God, would you please sit still? And why are you sitting like that anyway? It's like you-"

Sora's eyes widened in a combination of realization and disbelief.

"You didn't…?" Sora ventured.

Roxas looked away again, knowing this action was more incriminating than any words he could have spoken.

"Roxas!" Sora exclaimed.

Roxas sighed and leaned over in exhaustion. It wasn't like he didn't feel horrible enough about the entire ordeal without Sora's added exclamations.

Last night could be summed up to one term: Bullshit. That's what it all was. Axel's bullshit and his for giving into it. The nerve that man had being so gentle when he only really wanted one thing. Why did Roxas buy into all of that crap? Why had he wished that it was something more…?

"Sora, please…" Roxas beckoned. He could hardly finish the thought, so he certainly didn't want to _talk _about it.

Sora was quieted for a moment.

"What was it like?"

Autonomously, flashes of last night surface along with memories of the embarrassingly loud noises he had made. Roxas hid his face in his left hand and leaned away from his brother.

"Roxas," Sora's voice came, "Why are you doing this to yourself? If you really feel this way about Axel, it doesn't make any sense! Why are you still running from him!"

Roxas looked over at Sora. He hadn't told him the whole truth behind his and Axel's relationship—like Axel's declaration.

"A little over two weeks ago," Roxas began, "That psycho and I were trapped in an elevator."

"What!"

"Yes," Roxas said, "Now shut up and let me finish. There was a power outage in the mall downtown, and we happened to be in the elevator at the time. That's when he told me about his past lovelife, if that's what you wanna call it. He apparently has this thing for taking people who are either taken or straight, having sex with them, and then forgetting about them.

"So for his own selfish reasons, he charms his… his _targets_. Makes them fall in love with him, he says, and then when he's done, ends things.

"So in that elevator, he was kind enough to inform me that _I _was the lucky next target. He said he usually didn't mess with straight _and _taken because the last time he did, the girl got all catty and not even worth dealing with, but I guess I'm special or something.

" 'I'm gonna make you fall for me, Roxas.' " Roxas repeated the words for Sora. The words that scared him then, and the words that angered him now. "He got what he wanted. I'm just sparing him the awkwardness of having to deal with letting me know that my services are no longer required."

Sora looked dumbfounded when Roxas finally looked back at him.

"But he seems so friendly…" Sora said.

"Yeah," Roxas agreed, "he does that."

Sora frowned noticeably, before suddenly standing up.

"Well…" he began, "That explains things a bit. But I still don't think you should just give up like that. If you feel that strongly about him, not matter what his intentions were, I don't think you should give up so easily."

Of course Sora wouldn't think that.

"There's nothing to give up on," Roxas answered, and switched the legs he was sitting on when he lost feeling in the other one, "I never had anything to hope for."

"Riku and I are going back to the Destiny Islands the day after tomorrow," Sora suddenly declared, "I'm going to Kairi's now to get started packing. I've given you my opinion."

And Sora left, leaving Roxas alone again to wallow in his thoughts, something Roxas wasn't particularly fond of at the moment since his thoughts kept wandering to Axel.

He'd told Namine that he would pick her up after he told his parents about their engagement so they could go back and get their rings. She insisted on having them engraved right then and there, and Roxas had a very hard time deciding what to put on that ring. Sure he loved Namine, but he wasn't certain of exactly how anymore.

It's not like a simple "I love you" would have pleased her anyway. Roxas was sure she would insist on something deep, meaningful, and a little cryptic.

He'd finally decided on "eternally bound", because his mind kept going back to Axel's nickname for her.

Just then Roxas heard the phone ring- barely twice before his mom, now the only other person there, answered it.

Roxas sighed. The rings cost him his entire life savings—Namine's more than his of course. He stood up and went to go pick up his girlfriend from her house. He hadn't been back to his apartment since he left, and had no intention of doing so either. He wasn't going to ever attend that physics class again, and he was contemplating transferring out of Olympus altogether. He didn't want to go anywhere that he could even have the slightest possibility of running into Axel.

Maybe he would move to the Destiny Islands with Namine, and go to the same college as Sora.

Roxas was about to leave when suddenly his mom came back into the living room in a fit of tears and sobs. Roxas started at the sight. He hadn't ever seen his mother looking so distraught. It was a terrifying enough sight to put all other thoughts out of his head.

"Mom!" Roxas exclaimed, immediately rushing to her, "Mom, what's wrong?"

It took her a few moments for anything resembling words could get through the sobs.

"What?" Roxas asked. "What did you say?"

"Auron-" was all she could say before the sobs over took her again.

That's all she needed to have said, however, for Roxas to understand completely.

* * *

Namine gasped when Roxas gave her the news the next morning. He'd called her the day before and told her that they would have to wait until the next day to pick up the rings. So the two of them were riding in Roxas car to the jewelry shop right then, at about a quarter to eleven.

"You have an uncle?" she asked.

Namine had only met Auron once at a party a year and a half ago. And Roxas rarely spoke about him, it didn't surprise him that she didn't know.

"Not anymore," Roxas answered crudely. Since Namine was about to be Roxas' wife, the latter thought there was no longer any use in hiding any financial aspects from her. "Me and Sora are his benefactors."

"Oh?" she asked distantly, finding more interest in the dust specs flying in front of her. "Of what?"

"To split between the two of us," Roxas began "14 million dollars."

Namine's eyes flew as open as Roxas had ever seen and she gawked at him.

"What?!" she yelled in disbelief, "you're lying!"

Roxas shook his head.

"After taxes, it comes out to around 4 million each." **(1)**

Namine looked torn over how to react.

"I…" she started to say, "Um… con… I'm s… Roxas, help me out here."

Roxas chuckled a little.

"I accept your condolences while recognizing your excitement," Roxas responded.

Roxas was still trying to mull things over in his own mind. Auron didn't really _feel _gone, but Roxas was sure that was just because he wasn't really around much to begin with. He'd stayed with his parents last night, in his and Sora's old bedroom. He suddenly found himself 4 million dollars richer, but at the expense of the man who was the only reason his mother had been able to keep her and her sons off the streets.

Felicity was taking the news harder than anyone.

But the money couldn't have come at a more convenient time. Just as he was engaged, he and Namine could find their own place—somewhere far far away from Twilight Town. Far away from the drama.

Far away from Axel.

"So let's move together somewhere," Roxas offered, "Get out of this place."

Her eyes lit up in excitement.

"Really, Roxas?" she asked, looking as though she were about to cry, "Oh, can we move to Atlantica? I've always wanted to live there."

Roxas thought about it for a second. Atlantica was about as far away from Twilight town as it got. He readily agreed just as they arrived in front of Deaux.

* * *

Roxas was surprised when he entered his parents' living room some four hours later (after receiving the reluctant blessing of Namine's parents) to see Hayner sitting there on the couch.

"What are you doing here?" Roxas asked.

"I came to see you," Hayner answered, rising to his feet, "you've been completely MIA for the last two days, and I was worried. You apparently forgot how to use a phone."

Roxas had left his phone at his apartment, and so it had been dead a large amount of the time since he'd left.

"I'm sorry," Roxas said, "It's been hectic around here."

"Yeah," Hayner nodded, "Your dad told me when I got here. I'm sorry man. Do you know when the service is?"

"His will specified that he didn't want a service," Roxas went on, "Just a cremation. Mom plans on keeping them."

Hayner nodded in understanding.

"So then…" he said, "You wanna tell me what happened between you and Axel?"

Roxas heart skipped a beat.

"W-what?" Roxas stuttered a little, "What are you talking about?"

Hayner rolled his eyes.

"What do you think I'm stupid?" he demanded, "You're obviously avoiding him for some reason. Not talking to him. Are you guys fighting about something?"

"What makes you think I'm avoiding him?" Roxas frowned at his open book quality.

"He's been over so much these past two days I forgot that _you _were my roommate," Hayner said, "While you haven't been around at all. He's left you a million and two voicemails—to which I'm guessing you haven't responded. It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together."

Roxas' frown deepened.

"Look," Hayner offered, "You don't have to tell me what's going on, but just put the poor guy out of his misery. He's depressing me."

_Axel _was in misery? Roxas wanted to scoff at the thought.

"He'll get the picture soon enough," Roxas responded, "I guess you should be the first to know: Namine and I are moving to Atlantica."

"Atlantica!" Hayner cried, "That's hella far man! How are we supposed to hang out anymore."

Roxas smiled a little sadly.

"It's not like I'll never come back for a visit," he said.

He realized how ridiculous he was being. Leaving everyone and everything he knew just to avoid one person.

Hayner looked at Roxas, trying to assess him.

"Well, whatever makes you happy man."

Whatever made him happy…

Suddenly Sora came bursting through the front door with a wild look on his eyes.

"I just got your message," he explained to Roxas, "Where's mom?"

"In her room with Dad," Roxas responded, "She's a lot better off than yesterday now."

Sora barely gave a nod in response before rushing down the hall way to their parents' bedroom. Once out of sight, Roxas turned back to Hayner.

"Well I'm not going back to the apartment, Hayner," Roxas said, "So if you want to adopt Axel as your new roommate to help with the rent, I guess you could do that. I'll pay for this month, but I'll probably be gone by the end of this week."

"Dude," Hayner frowned, a little surprised, "You sure you're not rushing into things? You two just got engaged."

"But we've been together for over two years," Roxas responded, "that's hardly considered rushing."

Hayner threw his hands up in defeat.

"Just a little forewarning," Hayner said, "Well I have class in a little, so I'm leaving. Take it easy man, and at least come and say goodbye before you go."

Roxas wasn't sure if Hayner had been referring to Axel, or himself, but didn't have the chance to clarify it before he was already gone.

Roxas was left alone in the living room. His thoughts were on Axel again. Had he really been trying to contact him like that? Why? Axel had already gotten what he wanted.

Roxas shrugged the thoughts off, deciding that nothing worthwhile could come of dwelling on them.

Sora emerged from their parents' bedroom to meet Roxas in the living room some minutes later. Roxas was sitting on the love seat, wondering what real estate company he should look to.

He sat down wordlessly across from Roxas.

"It's like he's not even gone," Sora breathed.

Roxas said nothing in response to that. The only thing they all needed right now was a time. Time to move on.

"I'm moving to Atlantica," Roxas announced.

Sora looked up with a furrowed brow.

"No you're not," he commanded more than simply stated.

It was Roxas' turn to frown in surprise. Who was Sora to try and order him?

"Yes I am," Roxas retorted.

Sora's frown became a scowl.

"Just when I thought you were starting to grow a little backbone," he said, "you do something like this."

Roxas was taken aback.

"Running away from a problem rather than solving it has always been a forte of yours," Sora went on, "ignoring whatever you want or what you believe just to avoid conflict. I thought that was changing about you, but I guess I was wrong."

Roxas didn't know how to respond to that. He was angry, but had no right to be, because Sora was absolutely right.

"I guess so," Roxas simply agreed.

Sora stood up in anger.

"I can't stand it here!" he exclaimed, "Nothing's changed at all. I'm going back to Kairi's.

* * *

The situation was bad. The situation was mortifyingly bad.

Namine had taken it upon herself to surprise Roxas by renting a hotel room for the night—since neither one of them wanted to get caught by their parents and Roxas refused to go back to his apartment. She'd set everything up nicely. Nice dinner at the five start restaurant attached to the five start hotel, in celebration of their engagement, and everything was going smoothly.

Up until dinner ended.

Once they reached the hotel room, Namine attacked Roxas, kissing him with enough force to send him stumbling backwards onto the bed. He tried to kiss her back, but she was hardly giving him the chance.

She moved to his neck and began working to undo the buttons on his shirt.

It was usually at this point that Roxas could start to feel a reaction to the situation, but there was absolutely nothing going on down there this time. Roxas tried to focus.

Focus on Namine's hands moving all over his body, her tongue working its way down his stomach.

If anything, this did something to repulse him. Roxas was paling. He couldn't _will _his body to react how he wanted it to, and what conclusions would Namine jump to?

In desperation, Roxas' mind few to Axel, and somehow he managed to get through the ordeal.

Roxas lay there afterwards, Namine snoozing beside him, simply thinking. He raised his left hand in front of his face and stared at the solid gold band wrapped around his fourth finger.

Why was this situation suddenly so undesirable to him? Why did the prospect of being with Namine for the rest of his life seem like a condemnation now, when just three weeks ago, it was all he had expected? Just three weeks ago. Roxas had always known where his life was going. So how was it that one psychotic bundle of red spikes could change things so much, and make him realize how dissatisfied he really was?

How could Roxas play into it so easily?

Roxas sighed heavily and tried to let sleep take him over. Hopefully, when he woke up the next morning, it would be different from the last. Hopefully, he would wake up missing Axel a little less, than wake up missing him ten times more.

* * *

It was October 17th, 10:00 a.m. It was also the day that Sora departed back. If circumstances amongst the family had not been what they were, they might have held some sort of celebration. As it was, however, Aulderman and Felicity were out all day getting unpleasant errands out of the way.

So Sora brought Riku over when he came to visit with Roxas.

"Good morning, Roxas," Sora greeted with a certain degree of cheer as he entered the house. Riku followed closely behind, only acknowledging Roxas with a short nod.

"Morning," Roxas replied, following after the two of them into the living room.

"Finally going back," Sora smiled as Riku took a seat beside him on the love seat.

"I know you're brokenhearted to be leaving us, but please don't sound so sad," Roxas said brokenheartedly.

"The only thing I think I'll remotely miss about this place is you," Sora declared with a huff, "very remotely."

Roxas made a sound like a chuckle before flopping down on the couch across from them.

"Boy I sure am thirsty," Sora declared, coughing in a dramatic fashion. Roxas moved to stand up when Sora suddenly snapped at him. "You stay where you are! I'm sure Riku can pick up on a hint for him to get out of this room for a second."

Riku's facial expression didn't change in the least as he stood up and made his way towards the kitchen.

"It's been so long since he's been here, I'm surprised he still knows where things are," Sora declared once Riku had gone. Then he turned sharply on Roxas. "I don't wanna go back to the Destiny Islands with this mess still unresolved."

"What happened to, _'I've given you my opinion.'_?" Roxas asked incredulously.

"Well I did," Sora said, "But apparently that wasn't enough. Are you going to see Axel or not? If you're not going to go back to Axel, at _least _don't marry _Namine_."

"You don't know Namine, Sora," Roxas said a little agitatedly.

"I don't want to know Namine, Roxas," Sora replied, "But I do know her type. She's always been the domineering, controlling, manipulative, insecure slave driver that she is now who happened to latch on to someone with ridiculously large amounts of passivity for her to walk all over. She's always been willing to stoop to whatever trickery and lies she needs to in order get what she wants. I've always thought this, I've always let you know how I feel about her.

"And the other day at the party I was proven right! I thought then, '_Finally! Roxas will see what an awful person she is and won't want anything to do with her!'_ Then I come to find the next day that her extreme act of bitchery had you _proposing _to her?

"_'Why was I cursed with such a stupid brother!?' _I found myself thinking. Even after you told me what sort of person Axel was, and what he told you he would do, Roxas, you can't just let it go like that. Even if the relationship remains platonic, you can't just let Axel walk out of your life like that. You can't push him out of it. You obviously care a lot about him. He has a great effect on you. He brings _you _out of you. The real you! The you you've always been too scared to let anyone see because they might not like it. The you you hide when you don't like something, but would rather avoid the fight.

"He brings out _you._

"Namine, she only buries the real you. She beats the real you down until one day you'll forget who you are. All that will be left is some old puppet whose strings she's pulling. Roxas, can you imagine how happy I was to see you throw that statue at his head when I first met him? To see some form of fight in you? To hear you actually talk _bad _about somebody? To see you argue against someone aside from me?

"How can you let someone who brings all of that out in you go?"

Roxas sat there, completely awestruck and at a loss for words. Moments went by before he could form any sort of response to Roxas.

"The world isn't always black and white, Sora," Roxas finally said, "Axel may be able to do all that, and it may seem stupid of me to just 'let him go' or 'push him away', but if I didn't do it now, he would certainly do it later. Unfortunately, I'm not the only factor in my life that controls what goes on in it.

"'_Don't let him go!'_, you keep saying, well that decision isn't entirely mine, Sora. I can't force Axel to stay. And I can't look at his face every day and wonder what could have been. I can't just be friends with him anymore, Sora. I can't inflict that sort of torture on myself. I can't be expected to. It's easier to walk away, than to stick around and be completely unsatisfied."

Sora folded his arms, completely unconvinced.

"You haven't even tried," he responded.

"I don't have to, to know the outcome," Roxas said.

Sora nodded.

"Yeah," he said, getting to his feet, "I figured you might say something like that."

"Where are you going?" Roxas frowned.

"I left something in the car," Sora answered, "I'll be right back."

Sora left out the front door, leaving a disgruntled Roxas sitting there. Millions of thoughts were whizzing through his mind. Roxas hoped Riku didn't come back in while Sora was out.

Roxas started when he heard the doorbell ring.

He shook his head and sighed. Sora locked himself out again. He'd always had a knack for doing that ever since they were young.

Roxas stood up and unlocked the lock on the golden door knob, and nearly died of a heart attack when, instead of a pair of level footed blue eyes staring back at him, there were a pair of spectacularly green eyes peering down.

"Hey, Roxie."

* * *

**LOL! The cliffhangers get sooo much easier towards the end.**

**Ah, I had so much to say, but now I've forgotten all of it. Well, one more chapter to go. :)**

**(1) Taxes are a bitch.**


	18. XVIII

**Yah... so my face is gone now. lol. this took a lot longer to get out than I planned. I wrote the first ten pages of this within the first 3 days of posting chapter 17, and the next 11 came over the crazy month that ensued. **

**So offering my humblest apologies, I hope you enjoy this last chapter of Axis.**

**No sequels. absolutely not. lol. you can expect LOTS more akuroku from me tho. **

**I got too impatient to have it beta'd, so if you come across any mistakes, please pass em along to me and i'll take care of em.

* * *

  
**

Roxas had no first reaction. No instincts or impulses. All he could do is stand there, staring at mass of red spikes and the face sitting beneath it. When Axel began to advance, however, he was snapped out of reverie and he quickly slammed the door shut and locked it, retreating into the confines of his old bedroom.

Damn that brother of his! Damn his boyfriend too. Those meddling, conniving bastards. Roxas closed the blinds to his bedroom window and wished that he could somehow lock the door in there as well. But the bedroom door had no lock, (if he had been thinking more clearly at the time, he would have gone into the bathroom) and so he could only listen, while sitting very tensely on the edge of his bed, to the door unlock and footsteps make their way down the hall.

They stopped in front of his door and Roxas' heart was thrumming loudly and out of control.

"Don't bother knocking," Roxas heard Sora's voice command, "He wouldn't answer. Just go in, there's no lock on the door."

Roxas had never felt more like more of a coward in his life. He'd probably stare down the barrel of a loaded gun more readily than he would face Axel right now.

The door opened in a dramatically slow fashion (or was that just Roxas' hallucination?) and Roxas jumped to his feet, prepared to run out of the room as soon as Axel was all the way in.

Axel stepped into the room, didn't bother meeting Roxas' eyes and closed the door behind him. Roxas didn't have time to launch his plan into action before the redhead had leapt forward and tackled him back onto his bed.

"Hey!" Roxas complained loudly, attempting to escape, "What are you doing! Get off me!"

"If I let you go now," Axel began as Roxas continued to struggle, "You're only going to keep running."

Roxas kept wriggling, but the more he moved, the stronger Axel's hold seemed to get, until the former grew too tired to keep trying. It didn't keep the frown off of his face.

"Are you ready to listen yet?" Axel asked.

Roxas was lying completely under Axel, arms clamped immovably to his side and his face was only inches away from his. Roxas made sure to keep his eyes averted.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice now, do I?" Roxas grumbled.

"No, you don't," Axel agreed, "So just give me a few moments here, ok?"

Roxas was silent.

"Roxas…" Axel began. The sound of that alone was to send Roxas' already racing heart near heart attack status again. "I love you."

Well, now that was comical.

"Ha!" Roxas scoffed, and began struggling again, "I give you a word and you start with crap like that. Get off me!"

Axel bent down and kissed Roxas, immediately rendering the blonde motionless. Without much thought, Roxas returned the kiss before remembering the situation, and pulling his head away.

"Roxas," Axel said again, "I'm going to need you to stay calm, and listen."

Roxas thought about it. Did he really want to look back at this moment and remember how much of his dignity he had left behind? Shouldn't he at least be able to look back in the future and remember himself having dealt with this situation with a little more pride about him?

"Ok," Roxas said, halting all movements, "I'm listening."

But Roxas was still refusing to look Axel in the eye.

"And I don't believe you." Roxas went on, "We haven't even known each other for a month."

"I know," Axel said, and Roxas could swear he heard a hint of grimacing in it, "believe me I know. I've told myself the same exact thing several times. And I know this is like, the mother lord of clichés, but I feel like I've known you for so much longer."**(1)**

Roxas would have frowned and called it impossible if he hadn't been feeling the exact same way. So he kept silent.

"Last night I was sitting in my bedroom," he smiled ruefully, "after Hayner had come back and told me your message, and I was trying to remember where it started. And I couldn't really figure it out. I mean, I know I've always been attracted to you, but I don't know when I started to fall for you. It just seems like one moment, it didn't matter to me one way or another if you were by my side, and then the next I didn't want you gone for even a second.

"I hadn't planned for things to happen, three days ago, like they had. I fell asleep that night the happiest man in the world! Not because I had finally I _had _you, but because of the meaning behind it. You must have felt at least _some _of what I felt for you. At least some… But I was afraid. Afraid that it was all a dream, afraid that you had lost your senses, afraid that it was just the heat of the moment. That's why I tried not to say much. I thought that if I said something—anything—it would snap you back to reality and you would realize what a mistake you were making. If I had told you then how I felt, you would have come back to reality and pushed me away.

"But I felt more guilty than I did afraid, just when I was about to take you. If I was going to do it, I didn't want it to be because you had temporarily lost your mind. So I asked you if you were ok with it. And you nodded! You nodded!"

Roxas didn't need reminding of that embarrassing moment, and could feel his face heating up at just the memory of it.

"Roxas, I couldn't hold myself back then. But when I woke up the next morning, you were gone. And I found out from Hayner, right then, that you had proposed to that—to that _woman_. I was trying to figure out why you would do something like that. Why you would sleep with me if you were fully prepared to marry her. I couldn't figure it out.

"I waited around a long time for you to come back, but you didn't. And just when I was ready to give up, your brother came and found me, and told me your side of the story."

_Damn that meddling bastard._

"And so here I am," Axel went on, "to convince you that I don't just want you for your body anymore, Roxas. I want you. All of you."

Roxas turned to meet Axel's gaze at that last claim, and found the brilliantly green eyes not inches away from his own. He'd barely had time to get a good look at them before Axel closed the gap there was between their lips.

The kiss wasn't like any of the other ones he'd shared with Axel. This one was soft and gentle, caring. It sent chills all over Roxas' skin as Axel gently coaxed his lips apart. Axel slid his tongue into Roxas' mouth and the faintest of moans escaped.

For a minute, his senses almost fled him. For a minute, he found himself about to believe Axel's bullshit. Roxas was almost positive this was just another ploy to get him in bed.

Again.

He pulled away from the second kiss and glared furiously at Axel. He wanted to plead to the redhead to just stop. Leave him alone. Go ruin someone else's life now, because he'd already wreaked all the havoc he could on Roxas'.

He wanted to say that, but he didn't.

"I'm engaged now," he huffed as an excuse, trying to catch his breath again, "And this isn't some goddamn movie. We can't just go skipping off into the sunset together."

To Roxas' surprise, Axel let a loud, frustrated groan out and jumped off of him.

"Why the hell not?!" Axel asked, anger clear in his tone.

Roxas sat up, the urge to flee almost completely extinguished.

"You don't want her, Roxas," Axel went on, a pained look on his face, "You want me. You. Want. _Me_. If you loved her, Roxas, if you really loved her and you really wanted to spend the rest of your life with her, I swear, I wouldn't try to stop you."

Roxas looked at him incredulously.

"I wouldn't!" Axel repeated, "Maybe in the past—maybe with some other person. But… not with you, Roxie."

Axel walked towards Roxas again and (none to gently) brought the latter to his feet. Roxas stiffened as Axel snaked his fingers into his blonde spikes, and forced cerulean to lock with viridian.

Axel kissed Roxas again.

Why did he keep doing that? Roxas wondered, unable to bring himself to end the kiss this time. It was all he could do to stay on his feet.

Axel pulled away and Roxas was inwardly cursing himself out. For his weakness of mind, and for his damned heart! Why couldn't he make that infernal organ stop beating so fast!?

Why was Axel presenting him with a completely impossible situation? Even, by some glimmer of chance, if Axel were telling the truth, how could Roxas just walk away from Namine? From his engagement? After he'd told everyone about it, after everyone was expecting it? How could he just let everyone down like that?

Axel seemed to read his mind with eerie accuracy, because his hold on Roxas grew more impassioned.

"Damn it, Roxas!" he hissed, "Just forget about what everyone else wants! Forget about what your parents want, forget about what Namine wants, forget about what Sora wants, forget about what _I _want! What do you want?"

What Roxas wanted…

_What _I _want…_

Roxas knew the answer. It was immediate. But he had to wonder, why? Why Axel? Didn't he used to hate Axel? When had that fabled thin line become smeared and distorted?

Why was Axel so important to Roxas?

Was it because he kept coming back, even after all the "no"s Roxas threw at him? All the names he called him? Was it the fact that Roxas never had to hide himself from Axel? The self that yells at people when they're angry, the self that doesn't bend over backwards just to avoid a little dispute.

Maybe it was that Axel had always accepted that self that Roxas himself had hardly been prepared to accept.

Roxas' gaze refocused and he felt his breath begin to speed up again. Axel was still looking at him, still anticipating a response.

Roxas parted his lips to speak, choking a little on the words.

"I…" he began, "I… want… you--"

The words could barely escape Roxas' mouth before Axel had latched onto Roxas lips again. Roxas didn't even have to think about it before he was kissing Axel back, and anything in the world that wasn't Axel cast from his mind.

He wrapped his arms around Axel's (very) thin waist with a little hesitance. But that slight gesture was all the encouragement Axel needed.

* * *

"I…" Axel's entire being was hinging on how Roxas would finish his sentence, "I… want…you--"

Whatever self control Axel had been showing until that point had been broken, and he seized Roxas' soft lips before that sentence even had time to be fully completed.

Axel started the kiss off with relative gentleness, but soon ended up ravaging the shorter man, pushing him backwards onto the bed that lie behind him.

Axel's hands wandered all over Roxas' body, taking his time and truly enjoying the feel of him like he was afraid to before. Now that he knew that Roxas really was okay with it, now that he knew that Roxas really did want him.

Axel let his hands slip under the blonde's shirt and explored every inch of his touchable, smooth skin, savoring it, enjoying the reactions it got out of Roxas.

Axel broke away from the kiss to stare at Roxas. To drink it all in before lust took him over completely. Roxas stared up, breathing a little more heavily now.

Roxas' eyes were closed, head thrown back, and chest heaving up and down very noticeably.

Just when Axel was about to continue, Roxas suddenly reached up to stop him.

"Wait," he breathed, "just wait a second."

He sat up and shoved Axel to the other side of the bed. Axel peeled his face out of the comforter it had just been pushed into and frowned at Roxas.

"What?" he asked, "Are you just trying to kill the mood?"

"This is… a lot, Axel," Roxas said, face slightly flushed.

Axel sighed and sat up.

Roxas frowned a little, almost imperceptibly, and got to his feet. A quick stab of panic shot through Axel's heart, however, when Roxas started heading towards the door. Roxas had barely taken a step before Axel had gotten to his own feet and grabbed his hand.

Roxas looked back confusedly at Axel.

Axel realized in embarrassment his own clinginess, but couldn't find it in himself to let his hand go. He still hadn't fully convinced himself that this was all real, and as far as he knew, Roxas would be gone first chance he got.

From the expression of realization on the shorter man's face, Axel knew that Roxas had put two and two together. He opened his mouth to talk but then closed again, then opened, then closed.

"I'm sorry," he finally settled on, before snatching his hand free and quickly exiting the room.

Axel's initial reaction was to follow Roxas, but the fear of Roxas' exit being the blonde's way of letting Axel down rooted him to the spot. So all he did, all he could do, was listen to his footsteps until they were concluded by the sound of the front door shutting.

* * *

Roxas wasn't entirely sure that he should be driving with his mind focused on two million things, and none of them being the road. Had he really just admitted that to Axel?

Roxas groaned aloud and threw his head back violently against his head rest. Honks from surrounding vehicles brought his sight back to the stretch of road in front of him.

Could he really believe Axel? Why would he lie to such an extent though? It made no sense. The red light that he had just ran didn't make sense. Nothing made sense anymore.

Deciding it wasn't worth his life, Roxas pulled over into the nearest parking lot (to a fast food joint) and killed the engine.

One thing was absolutely certain: he couldn't stay with Namine anymore. If his conversation with Axel just then had made him realize anything, it was that he couldn't put himself through a life time of the same misery he was putting himself through already. He pulled out his phone and called her.

The ringing sounds seemed to drag on a lot longer than usual.

"Hello?" Namine's voice came from the other end, "Roxas?"

"Hey," Roxas voice cracked. He cleared it, "Hey. What're you up to?"

"Just going through my things deciding what I should or shouldn't pack," she said, and Roxas could practically feel her broad grin through the phone, "Why? What's up?"

"Can I come pick you up?" Roxas asked, not allowing himself any time to hesitate or dwell on it, "We need to talk."

She laughed blissfully, ignorantly.

"Famous last words," she said, "how far away are you?"

Roxas revved up the engine.

"I can be there in 10 minutes."

"Oh good," she said, "let's just stay on the phone then. I wanted to talk to you about what airline we should use. My parents already got us two first class tickets with Kingdom Airlines as a going away gift, but in my opinion they're a little iffy lately. Three crashes in two months—"

Roxas didn't really care to listen to her any more. Her voice was starting to make his stomach queasy.

"I'll just see you in a few," Roxas cut over her, "You know the new cell phone law."

"Oh," she gasped, "right. Well, see you in a few then! Bye hon."

Roxas hung up and forced himself to think of nothing but operating his vehicle up until he pulled into the parking lot of Namine's very large home. That car ride wasn't long enough. Roxas hadn't had enough time to properly work out the speech he'd been going over in his head. Break-ups weren't his thing. He wasn't a naturally charismatic speaker either. He wasn't suave or tactful. He didn't know how he was going to pull this off.

_Man up!_ He inwardly shouted at himself, _Just get out of the car and get it over with._

Roxas was finding that command exceedingly difficult to do. Almost three years of relationship was coming to an abrupt end because of three weeks with some crazed redhead? Roxas was banging his head against the steering wheel in agony when a voice suddenly snapped him out of it.

Roxas started and looked out his window to see Namine standing there, with a concerned look on her face.

"Are you ok?" she asked, taking the liberty of opening Roxas' door for him.

Roxas, still looking wide-eyed and stupid at her, shook his head and tried to gather all the courage and determination he could muster.

"Ah, yeah," he said, turning the car off and stepping out of it, "Listen-"

"You came just in time!" Namine smiled, and began dragging Roxas towards the house, "my parents were just about to leave, but now you can help me convince them about exchanging the tickets before you go."

"Namine…"

"Two heads are better than one, after all," she went on, "two mouths too I guess."

"Namine-"

"So which airline do you think we should go wi-"

"Namine!"

Roxas froze and snatched his wrist out of her hand. Namine turned around with the utmost shock and confusion on her face. Roxas had become very agitated by her refusal to listen, and was sure that anger was quite plainly seen on his face. But he had to calm down if he was going to do this in the least painful way.

He averted his gaze to the smooth pavement beneath his feet and began to recite the speech he had half way worked out.

"I think-"

"You want to leave me, don't you?"

Roxas' eyes shot back up immediately to the woman in front of him, and he couldn't bring himself to respond.

"I knew it," she sighed with the saddest smile Roxas had ever seen on her face, "I knew it. These last few days were just too be true, especially after what I did at the party…"

"Namine," Roxas began, "it's not that-"

"It's Axel, isn't it?" she asked, rendering Roxas absolutely silent again. She looked like she was about to cry. "I knew that too. The instant you went after him instead of staying with me. I mean I'd suspected something from him but…"

Her voice was lost Roxas was simply at a lost. Were you supposed to console the person you were breaking up with? Was that allowed? Roxas didn't want to add insult to injury, so he just kept quiet and let Namine support herself.

"Oh," she said shortly, "you should probably…"

She slipped the golden, diamond encrusted band around her finger and held it out for Roxas to take.

"Namine, you really don't-"

"I want to," she said, taking Roxas hand and forcing him to take the ring, "it's just a symbol of a lie, right?" Roxas said nothing as Namine closed his fingers around the ring. "Classic break up lines, but, as long as you're happy. Right now, that's all I can really ask for right?"

She tried her best to put on a real smile for Roxas, who had now averted his gaze once again.

"But it sure does hurt a girl's ego," she continued, "being ousted by a man…"

* * *

Axel didn't know what day of the week it was, or the day of the month, and all the people who'd come up to the bar on his shift could notice that something was off with the redhead. All Axel knew was that it had been over six days since he'd seen Roxas.

Since he'd walked out on him last week, he hadn't been able to bring himself to even check up on the shorter man. The way he'd left was so ambiguous that it allowed Axel to hope that it hadn't been a total rejection, and the fear of having that hope completely extinguished kept him from even attempting to communicate with Roxas or anyone that he knew.

"—what I ordered. Hello? Axel? AXEL!"

"What?" Axel asked, jerking his head into reality, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

There was a tall dirty blonde in front of him with a beer belly. Axel hadn't noticed that he'd come in.

"This is the third time you've got my drink wrong," the guy said, "are you alright man?"

Axel heaved a long sigh and took the guy's drink.

"What did you ask for?" Axel asked apologetically.

"That's alright," he said, getting off of the bar stool, "you should take your break though. Unwind. Take it easy."

He left into the loud crowd of dancing idiots and Axel turned around to slap himself. He couldn't even do his job properly anymore. Maybe he should take his break; no one else was on shift though…

Axel turned his head around for a second to look at the bar. It was deserted anyway. He sighed and rested against the bar with his back to the rambunctious crowd, trying to block them out.

He heard it though when someone came up to the bar, took a seat, and cleared his throat.

Axel suppressed his sigh and turned around to face the customer.

"What'll it b…"

Axel's lips stopped moving and his voice stop working the instant he saw Roxas sitting in the chair directly in front of him across the bar. Roxas, small, blonde, blue eyed, beautiful Roxas. If Axel wasn't rooted to the spot, he might have jumped at the younger man for joy.

But that probably wouldn't have been the wisest of decisions. It would probably scare Roxas away. If Axel even allowed himself to think about moving or speaking, anything he would do would surely send the boy running right back out the same way he came in.

So he stayed there. Just like that.

"Hey," Roxas spoke, with that voice that that Axel hadn't realized how much he'd really missed until he heard it again.

Which made it even harder for Axel to keep quiet and still.

Roxas looked up and down the bar, noticing is desolation.

"You always have this much company?" Roxas asked, attempting a smile.

Axel gathered his balls and self control and willed himself to answer.

"It's the band," Axel answered, "stealing all my customers."

Roxas stared at him with an intensity that made Axel want to look away and stare back at the same time. It energized him and seemed to make it hard to stand.

"They're not that great," Roxas said, just above a whisper.

It took Axel a while to make it to the next line.

"So what's your story?"

Roxas finally looked away, releasing Axel from a little of the trance he was being held in.

"My love life's kinda screwed up," Roxas sighed, "I mean, I kinda screwed up my love life." Roxas looked up at Axel to gauge his reaction, but Axel was remaining determinedly unreadable. "I've been going out with this girl for two and a half years now and we just got engaged not too long ago. In a normal situation, everyone would congratulate me call it a day."

Roxas paused again and took a look at Axel.

"But I met this psychotic lunatic who decided to turn my whole world upside down. He's actually the reason that I decided to propose-"

"Wait, what!" Axel blurted before he could stop himself.

"But it didn't seem to help," Roxas went on nonplussed, "In fact things only seemed to get worse from that point. Especially when he tracked me down to convince me he was actually in love with me. Well if having sex didn't tip the scale, that certainly did the job."

Axel could see the flush across Roxas' face, but was still holding his breath. Axel wasn't entirely sure he was ready for this. No matter what happened at the end of the conversation, it was the end, and the little hope Axel had managed to hold on to would be gone.

"I broke up with Namine-"

Axel leaned over the bar and kissed Roxas with a swiftness and firmness that took the blonde off guard completely. Axel quickly backed off though, and put as much distance between him and Roxas.

"I'm sorry," Axel said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "g-go on."

Roxas recovered quickly from his surprise and went on as though nothing had happened.

"I broke up with her a week ago," Roxas went on, "and have spent these last days trying to work up the courage to come and see you agai-"

"Roxas," Axel cut over him, "could you please hurry up and make your point?" _Before I rape you._

Roxas looked away and rested his face on his hand and mumbled something that Axel couldn't understand, and Axel's patience was wearing thin.

"What?" Roxas sighed, "you're really going to make me spell it out completely?"

There was no misinterpreting that. Axel stared at Roxas dumbfounded for a second, and walked slowly towards the blonde.

He leaned over and his face and Roxas' were only inches away.

"I would take you right here, and right now," Axel began, enjoying how red his cheeks became, "but you get really, _really_ loud."

Axel had already predicted Roxas' reaction, and so was prepared when a tightly clenched fist began flying towards his face. Axel caught the fist effortlessly and in one swift motion closed the small gap that was between his and Roxas face. When the kiss ended, Axel was barely an inch away from Roxas when he felt a sharp, painful set of knuckles collide with the side of his face.

"Psychotic bastard," Roxas mumbled under his breath.

"So what does this make us?" Axel wondered aloud, rubbing his cheek, "are we together? Like, officially?"

"We-"

"Roxas!" Axel heard a familiar voice call out, and when he looked up he saw Hayner and his friends coming up towards Roxas, and inwardly cursed them all for their horrible timing. "Hey Axel. I see you two have patched things up."

"Hayner, Pence, Olette," Roxas turned around and greeted, "perfect timing. Let's have all have a drink."

"Did we interrupt your conversation?" Olette asked politely with a smile, taking a seat beside Roxas at the bar.

"Nothing important," Roxas waved, and there Axel a covert glare that clearly wanted for him to remain quiet.

Axel only smiled and kept grabbed a glass to start cleaning. He stared at Roxas, laughing, smiling, and joking with his friends. It looked like one of the pictures that come in a new picture frame. Axel still wasn't entirely satisfied, he wanted to go home right then, take Roxas with him, and screw him senseless. But he'd waited for Roxas for long enough already, and one more hour or two wasn't going to kill him.

* * *

**The ending is rushed as i was feeling very impatient with it and im very disappointed with it, and maybe in some later point in time, i'll extend it and give this story the ending it deserves, but right now, i just don't want it to stay incomplete. Sorry for all who share my sentiments.**

**When I sat down and decided to start this fic, I had just been drowning myself in chick flicks. So I decided, I'll write a chick flick too! And I decided I would follow a pretty generally accepted chick flick sequencing format:**

**The meeting.**

**The falling in love.**

**The falling out/catastrophe/something that's inevitably going to go wrong.**

**The reconciliation.**

**The happy ending.**

**Now my mission of having written a full fledged chick flick of my own (excluding characters used) is complete.  
**

**(1) I certainly **_**feel **_**like I've been writing for more than three weeks worth of story. D:**


End file.
